Solving the Romanov Mystery via DNA Testing
The mystery of the Romanov family that once ruled Russia during the 20th century in which had caused several uncertainties:
- There were no survivors during the attacking of the Bolshevik soldiers in 1918.
- There was one survivor (who was also a member of a royal family) of the attack during the Russian Revolution – the surviving Romanov daughter, Anastasia.
Current, DNA testing experts have solved the Romanov mystery – No one survived.
This research team has performed several DNA testing methods to solve this mystery:
- Mitochondrial DNA (mt-DNA): in order to prove that the children found in the 2007 grave were related to the czarina and other daughters found in the 1991 grave.
- Autosomal STR (short tandem repeat) DNA: in order to show that the individuals found in 2007 were close relatives or possibly siblings.
- Y-STR (Y- chromosomal DNA): Looks at short tandem repeats found only on the male’s Y-chromosome, compared the genetic fingerprint of DNA extracted from a tooth of the czar found in 1991 to that from the leg bone of the teenage boy found in 2007.