microsatellite

A short sequence of DNA, usually 1 to 4 basepairs (a unit of DNA), that is repeated together in a row along the DNA molecule. There is variation from person to person in the number of repeats. There are hundreds of places in human DNA that contain microsatellites.

A segment of DNA characterized by a variable number of copies(typically 5-50) of a sequence of around 5 or fewer bases (called a repeat unit ). At any one locus (genomic site), there are usually several different " alleles " in a population, each allele identifiable according to the number of repeat units. This existence of multiple alleles (high level of polymorphism ) has enabled microsatellites to be developed as powerful markers in many different species. They are detected by the polymerase chain reaction ..

Repetitive stretches of short sequences of DNA used as genetic markers to track inheritance in families. See also inherited, nucleotide, chromosome, polymorphism