Satellite DNA is important because it:

Explanation

Satellite DNA is that part of repetitive DNA that has long repetitive nucleotide sequences in tandem that form a separate fraction on density ultracentrifugation. DNA fingerprinting involves identifying differences in some specific regions in a DNA sequence called repetitive DNA because, in these sequences, a small stretch of DNA is repeated many times. These repetitive DNA sequences are separated from bulk genomic DNA as different peaks during density gradient centrifugation. The bulk DNA forms a major peak and the other small peaks are referred to as satellite DNA. Depending on the base composition (A: T rich or G: C rich), length of the segment, and the number of repetitive units, the satellite DNA is classified into many categories, such as micro­ satellites, mini­satellites, etc. These sequences normally do not code for any proteins, but they form a large portion of the human genome. These sequences show a high degree of polymorphism and form the basis of DNA fingerprinting. Since DNA from every tissue (such as blood, hair­follicle, skin, bone, saliva, sperm, etc.) from an individual shows the same degree of polymorphism, they become very useful identification tools in forensic applications.