Paternity Test Family Relationship Genetic Analysis  Scientific Services News Home

DelphiTest offers several other genetic analysis in addition to the paternity test. These tests allow for determination of other family relationships.



See a list of our different tests and their explanation below.


Paternity Test

To check if a man is the biological father of a child. To do the test, samples of the father and the child are necessary. A sample of the mother will increase the probability of the test however is not necessary to do the test. It is possible to compare several potential fathers to one child or several potential children to one father.

  If it is not possible to get a sample of the alleged father a paternity test is still feasible. We then can use samples of the brother, father or grandfather of the alleged father. These samples will be tested for the Y-chromosome. If you want to know more about this test – check below under the heading “Tests for related male family members”.

To check female children a X-chromosome test is possible – see below.


Maternity Test

Is the mother of a child his/her biological mother? For this question we offer a similar test to the paternity test. We will need samples of the mother and the child.

If there are no samples of the alleged mother, samples of her mother, brother, sister or grandmother can be tested. This test will look for conformity with the mt-DNA method. Look for more information below under the heading “Tests for related female family members”.


Test to determine if two men are brothers

This test will show if two presumed brothers do in fact have the same father. A sample of the father is not necessary. We will test for the Y-chromosome which can only be passed on from the father to male descendants. This chromosome must be exactly the same for both brothers. A sample of the mother is not necessary.

If there is a question about the mother being the same for both brothers we can use a mt-DNA test. A sample of the mother is not necessary for this.


Test to determine if two women are sisters
This test is to show if two women (with the same or different mothers) have the same father. We will analyze the X-chromosome that would have been passed on from the father to both sisters.
This is a fairly new test and the probability is somewhat lower than the classical paternity test. However in most cases we can offer a fairly clear result. Samples of the mother or mothers are necessary. DelphiTest currently develops new markers to enhance the probability.


Test to determine if there is a brother - sister relationship
This is a difficult test since it is neither an outright brother to brother or sister to sister test. We are one of the very few laboratories in Germany that offer a solution in cases like this.


Tests for related male family members
A test that is similar to the brother - brother test allows to check for male relationships within a family. The Y-chromosome is always passed on from father to son within a family. That means that we will find the exact same Y-chromosome within all male relationships in a family, e.g. grandfather – grandson, cousin – cousin, uncle – nephew.


Tests for related female family members
This test is possible with the mt-DNA test. The mt-DNA can only be passed on by the mother. Therefore it is possible to check female inheritance and compare for example grandmother and grandson without analyzing samples of the mother. For this test we can use samples of her mother, grandmother, brothers, sisters, children or grandchildren.


What can’t we test for?
There are some relationships that we cannot test for at this time, others would be very complicated to test. Feel free to ask, we will be happy to advise you.


Which test do I need?

We have introduced you to five different tests (paternity test, Y-chromosome test, X-chromosome test, test brother-sister, mt-DNA test). These tests allow us to determine several different relationships within a family.

Not sure which one is for you? Contact us – we are happy to help. Let us know what kind of relationship within your family you would like to test for and we will find the best test method for you.
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