: Comparing antemortem and postmortem X-rays or dental records.

Traditional paternity testing relies on comparing at specific locations (loci) on nuclear DNA. However, "alternative methods" typically address scenarios where the alleged father is unavailable or the standard nuclear DNA is highly degraded. 1. Y-Chromosome (Y-STR) Analysis

In some contexts, identification may rely on "comparative methods" if biological material is insufficient:

While STRs measure the length of repeating DNA segments, SNP typing identifies changes at a single nucleotide base (A, T, C, or G).

: Because the Y chromosome is transmitted directly from a father to all of his sons with minimal change, it can trace paternal lineage across multiple generations.

: SNP analysis can also provide biogeographic ancestry data, which helps investigators narrow down a "father's" identity by predicting physical characteristics (phenotyping) when no direct match exists in databases like CODIS . 3. Forensic Genetic Genealogy (FGG)

: Using unique ridge patterns to establish identity, though this requires a direct reference print from the alleged father. Key Analytical Tools Primary Marker Standard Paternity Autosomal STRs Direct child-father comparison. Y-STR Analysis Y-Chromosome Paternal male lineage (sons/brothers). SNP Microarrays Distant relatives and degraded samples. FGG Large SNP panels Cold cases with no direct suspects.

One of the most prominent alternative methods is the use of .