MLVA (Multiple Loci VNTR Analysis) is a method employed for the genetic analysis of particular microorganisms, such as pathogenic bacteria, that takes advantage of the polymorphism of tandemly repeated DNA sequences. "VNTR" means "Variable Number of Tandem Repeats". This method is well-known in forensic science since it is the basis of DNA fingerprinting in humans. When applied to bacteria, it contributes to forensic microbiology through which the source of a particular strain might eventually be traced back. In a typical MLVA assay, a number of well-selected and characterised (in terms of mutation rate and diversity) loci are amplified by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) so that the size of each locus can be measured. From this size, the number of repeat units at each locus can be deduced. The resulting information is a code which can be easily compared to reference databases.
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