A few years ago, Chile allowed its government agents to kidnap, torture, and kill many young adults who opposed the regime in control of the country. The children of abducted women were often taken and given to government supporters to raise as their own. Now that the political situation has changed, grandparents of these stolen children are trying to locate and reclaim them as their legitimate grandchildren. Imagine that you are the judge in a trial centering on the custody of a child. Mr. and Mrs. Escobar believe Carlos Mendoza is the son of their abducted, murdered daughter. If this is true, then Mr. and Mrs. Sanchez are the paternal grandparents of the child because their son (also abducted and murdered) was the husband of the Escobars' daughter. Mr. and Mrs. Mendoza claim that Carlos is their natural child. The attorney for the Escobar and Sanchez couples informs you that scientists have discovered a series of restriction fragment length polymorphims (RFLPs) in human mitochondrial DNA. He tells you that his clients are eager to be tested and asks you to order that Mr. and Mrs. Mendoza and Carlos also be tested.
a. Can mitochondrial RFLP data be helpful in this case? In what way?
b. Does the mitochondrial DNA of all seven parties need to be tested to resolve the case? If not, whose mitochondrial DNA actually needs to be tested in this case? Explain your choices.
c. Assume that the mitochondrial DNA of critical people has been tested, and you have received the results. How would the results resolve the question of Carlos's parentage?