A DNA fingerprint is a laboratory technique that identifies DNA repeat sequences that produce a pattern specific to that individual. Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) exhibits several useful features for human identification and for their use in DNA fingerprinting: 1-doesn't undergo recombination, 2-a high copy number, and 3-matrilineal inheritance (i.e., mtDNA is inherited from the mother). It is for these reasons that mtDNA fingerprint analysis has become very useful for human identification.
