Inheritance of

Fingerprint Patterns

By:-
Sanskar Srivastava
11 – B
th
 Acknowledgements

Primarily, I would like to thank my

Biotechnology teacher Mr. D.K. Jamwal
whose valuable guidance has been the
ones that helped me a lot in patching
this project and make it a success. His
suggestions and his instructions has
served as the major contributor
towards the completion of the project.

Then, I would like to thank my parents

and friends who have helped me with
their valuable suggestions and
guidance has been helpful in various
phases of the completion of the
project.

Last but not the least i would like to

thank all those people who volunteered
for this project.
 Sanskar Srivastava

Certificate

The project on the topic

“Inheritance of Fingerprint Patterns”
was completed in the supervision of
Mr. DK Jamwal , and is submitted
by Sanskar Srivastava of
class 11th – B of Air
Force Bal Bharati School, Lodhi Road,
New Delhi .

Mr. D.K. Jamwal

HOD, Biotechnology Department
 Table of contents
i.
ii. Acknowledgements
iii. Certificate

1) Introduction
2) What are Fingerprints?
3) Fingerprint Patterns
4) Why are Fingerprint Patterns Inherited?
5) How are Fingerprint Patterns Inherited?
6) Experimental Verification of Inheritance of
Fingerprint Patterns
7) Conclusion

iv.Sources
 Introduction

Have you ever looked at two girls and thought they

looked so similar that they must be sisters? What
about a father and his son – have you ever seen a
boy who looked just like how his father did when he
was younger? We can often tell that two people are
related because they appear to have several similar
physical traits. This is because children receive half
their DNA – their genetic blueprints – from each
parent. All biological siblings are the mixture of both
parents' DNA. This results in a greater degree of
matching traits between siblings as compared to
unrelated individuals. But, what about fingerprints –
are they an inherited trait? If DNA determines
fingerprint patterns, then siblings are more likely to
share same fingerprint category than two unrelated
individuals are.
 What are fingerprints?

According to Glenn Langenburg, a Certified Latent

Print Examiner at the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal
Apprehension, pattern types are genetically
inherited, but the individual details that make a
fingerprint unique are not. Humans, as well as apes
and monkeys, have so-called friction ridge skin
(FRS) covering the surfaces if their hands and feet.
FRS comprises a series of ridges and furrows that
provide friction to aid in grasping and prevent
slippage. FRS is unique and permanent. No two
individuals (including identical twins) have the exact
same FRS arrangement. Moreoveer, the
arrangement of the ridges and features do not
change throughout our lifetimes, with the exception
of significant damage that creates a permanent
scar. The term fingerprint refers to the FRS on the
ends of our fingers.

Since each person has unique fingerprints that do

not change over time, they can be used for
identification. For example, police use fingerprints to
determine whether a particular individual has been
at a crime scene.

Fingerprint patterns

Fingerprints are static and do not change with age,

so an individual will have the same fingerprint from
infancy to adulthood. The pattern changes size, but
not shape, as the person grows. Fingerprints are
used as reliable identification because each person's
fingerprints are unique, but, people can have similar
fingerprint patterns. Although the exact number,
shape, and spacing of the ridges changes from
person to person, fingerprints can be sorted into
three general categories based on their pattern
types: loop, arch, and whorl, as shown in the figure
below.

Why are fingerprint patterns

inhherited?

Why are patterns inherited, but not the identifying

ridge features? The reason lies in the timing of fetak
development: two critical events in the formation of
FRS collide during weeks 10 through 15. Fetuses
develop smooth volar pads (raised pads on the
fingers, palms and feet) because of swelling
mesenchymal tissue, which is a precursor of blood
vessels and connective tissues.

Around week 10, the volar pads stop growing but

the hand continues to grow. As a result, over the
next few weeks, the volar pad is absorbed back into
the hand. During this critical stage, the first signs of
ridges begin to appear on the skin of the volar pads.
The spacing and arrangement of these early ridges
(known as primary ridges) is a random process, but
it is dictated by the overal geometry and
topography of the volar pad. If the primary ridges
appear while the volar pad is still quite pronounced
(described as high volar pad), then the individual
will develop a whorl pattern. If the primary ridges
appear while the volar pad is less pronounced
(dubbed an intermediate volar pad), then the
individual will develop a loop pattern. Finally, if the
primary ridges appear while the volar pad is nearly
absorbed (a so-called low volar pad), then the
individual will develop an arch pattern.

The timing of these two events (volar pad regression

and primary ridge appearance) is genetically linked:
pattern type is influenced by genetic developmental
timing (inherited from parents). The exact
arrangements of the ridges, minutiae (specific path
of ridges and the breaks or forks in the ridges), and
other identifying features, however, are random and
not genetically linked (and thus not inheritable).
Evidence of this comes from studies of fingerprints
from identical twins. Identical twins share the same
DNA and, therefore, presumably the same genetic
developmental timing. The fingerprints of identical
twins often have very similar size and shape attern
types. The identifying characteristics are different,
however. Thus, you are more likely to share pattern
type with your family members than an unrelated
individual, but your identifying FRS feature will
always be unique.

How are Fingerprint Patterns

Inherited?
Herman M. Slatis, Mariassa Bat-Miriam Katznelson,
and Batsheva Bonne-Tamir did an analysis of the
fingerprints of 571 members of the Habbanites (an
isolate Israeli community) in around 1976. This
analysis suggests inherited patterns and pattern
sequences. According to the genetic theory
developed by them; it assumes that the basic
fingerprint pattern sequence is all ulnar loops and
that a variety of genes cause deviations from this
pattern sequence. Genes that have been proposed
include:
(1) a semidominant gene for whorls on the
thumbs (one homozygote has whorls on both
thumbs, the other has ulnar loops on both
thumbs and the heterozygote usually has two
ulnar loops or one ulnar loop and one whorl);
(2) a semidominant gene for whorls on the ring
fingers which acts like the gene for whorls on
the thumbs;
(3) a dominant gene for arches on the thumbs
and often on other fingers;
(4) one or more dominant genes for arches on
the fingers;
(5) a dominant gene for whorls on all fingers
except for an ulnar loop on the middle finger;
(6) a dominant gene for radial loops on the
index fingers, frequently associated with an arch
on the middle fingers; and
(7) a recessive gene for radial loops on the ring
and little fingers. These genes may act
independently or may show epistasis.
Accorrding to Genetics Home Reference, NIH, USA,
the basic size, shape, and spacing of dermatoglyphs
appear to be influenced by genetic factors. Studies
suggest that multiple genes are involved, so the
inheritance pattern is not straightforward. Genes
that control the development of the various layers
of skin, as well as the muscles, fat, and blood
vessels underneath the skin, may all play a role in
determining the pattern of ridges. The finer details
of the patterns of skin ridges are influenced by other
factors during fetal development, including the
environment inside the womb. These developmental
factors cause each person’s dermatoglyphs to be
different from everyone else’s. Even identical twins,
who have the same DNA, have different fingerprints.
Few genes involved in dermatoglyph formation have
been identified. Rare diseases characterized by
abnormal or absent dermatoglyphs provide some
clues as to their genetic basis. For example, a
condition known as adermatoglyphia is
characterized by an absence of dermatoglyphs,
sometimes with other abnormalities of the skin.
Adermatoglyphia is caused by mutations in a gene
called SMARCAD1. Although this gene is clearly
important for the formation of dermatoglyphs, its
role in their development is unclear.

SMARCAD1 gene
SWI/SNF-related, matrix-associated actin-dependent
regulator of chromatin, subfamily a,containing
DEAD/H box 1

Normal Function
The SMARCAD1 gene provides instructions for
making two versions (isoforms) of theSMARCAD1
protein: a full-length isoform and a shorter, skin-
specific isoform. The full-length isoform is active
(expressed) in multiple tissues, where it regulates
the activity ofa wide variety of genes involved in
maintaining the stability of cells' genetic
information.The skin-specific isoform is expressed
only in skin cells, and little is known about
itsfunction. However, it appears to play a critical
role in the formation of dermatoglyphs,which are the
patterns of skin ridges on the pads of the fingers
that form the basis foreach person's unique
fingerprints. These ridges are also present on the
toes, the palmsof the hands, and the soles of the
feet. Dermatoglyphs develop before birth and
remainthe same throughout life. The activity of the
skin-specific isoform of the SMARCAD1protein is
likely one of several factors that determine each
person's unique fingerprintpattern.

Health Conditions Related to Genetic Changes

Adermatoglyphia: At least four mutations in the
SMARCAD1 gene have been found to cause
adermatoglyphia, which is the absence of
dermatoglyphs on the hands and feet.Because
affected individuals do not have skin ridges on the
pads of their fingers,they cannot be identified on the
basis of their fingerprints. Adermatoglyphia can
occurwithout any related signs and symptoms, or it
may be associated with other features,typically
affecting the skin.
The mutations that cause adermatoglyphia affect
the skin-specific isoform of theSMARCAD1 protein
but not the full-length isoform. These genetic
changes preventthe production of any functional
skin-specific isoform from one copy of the
gene,which reduces the total amount of this protein
in skin cells. Although it is unclearhow these genetic
changes cause adermatoglyphia, researchers
speculate that ashortage of the skin-specific version
of the SMARCAD1 protein impairs signalingpathways
needed for normal skin development and function,
including the formationof dermatoglyphs.

Chromosomal Location
Cytogenetic Location: 4q22.3, which is the long (q)
arm of chromosome 4 at position22.3
Molecular Location: base pairs 94,207,608 to
94,291,292 on chromosome 4 (Homosapiens
Annotation Release 109, GRCh38.p12) (NCBI)

Other Names for This Gene

 ADERM
 ATP-dependent helicase 1
 DKFZP762K2015
 ETL1
 HEL1
 IAA1122
 SMRCD_HUMAN
 Experimental Verification of
Inheritance of Fingerprint
Patterns

Time Required: 1-2 days

Material Availability: Readily available
Cost: Very low (under Rs. 20)
Safety: No Issues

Abstract:
To experimentally prove the inheritance of
fingerprint patterns, I collected, and compared the
fingerprints of the right index fingers of siblings
versus unrelated pairs of individuals. All the
fingerprints are collected after taking the consent
from parents of these children, and assuring them
that these fingerprints will not be used for any
identification purposes. Hence, all fingerprints are
assigned a code.
Materials and Equipments Used:
 Stamp Pad
 White Paper
 Moist towelletes for cleaning the fingertip
 5 pairs of siblings
 5 pairs of unrelated individual

P.T.O. -->

Conclusion

To conclude, I would say that the basic

size, shape, and spacing of fingerprint
patterns appear to be influenced by
genetic factors. Studies suggest that
multiple genes are involved, so the
inheritance pattern is not
straightforward. However, the exact
genes involved are not yet been
discovered completely, but we can be
sure that we will get to know about
them in the near future.
 Sources

 www.scientificamerican.com
 www.sciencebuddies.org
 https://ghr.nlm.nih.gov
 www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
 www.europepmc.org
 Images from www.google.co.in