Page "Restriction fragment length polymorphism" Paragraph 8

Analysis of RFLP variation in genomes was a vital tool in genome mapping and genetic disease analysis.

If researchers were trying to initially determine the chromosomal location of a particular disease gene, they would analyze the DNA of members of a family afflicted by the disease, and look for RFLP alleles that show a similar pattern of inheritance as that of the disease ( see Genetic linkage ).

Once a disease gene was localized, RFLP analysis of other families could reveal who was at risk for the disease, or who was likely to be a carrier of the mutant genes.