tested by RFLP has to do with the fact that the allele designation is a quantitative entity: a length of DNA in kilobase.

As in any quantitative measurement there is a variability, which is referred to as sigma (_). Another variable is the ability to distinguish between two close alleles (alleles differing by only a few repeats). This ability may vary greatly among laboratories, depending on the methodology used, especially the technical conditions during electrophoresis. This variability is referred to as delta (_). Because of these two sources of variability, the allele frequency distribution for VNTR polymorphisms tested by RFLP is a continuous distribution, as opposed to the discrete distribution of allele frequencies in the classic genetic systems. For example, in most laboratories a DNA fragment measured at 1.60 kb cannot be considered different from a fragment measured at 1.57 kb or 1.63 kb. Each laboratory must decide, for each allele size, the range of allele sizes that are considered within matching criteria of the one measured. This range is called a bin. The allele frequency used in the statistical calculations is actually the frequency of all the alleles falling into the bin for the allele size measured. Inasmuch as the size of the bin varies with the technical characteristics of the laboratories, the final statistical evaluation result (PI, PP, or probability of exclusion) may differ between two laboratories for the same locus with the same restriction enzyme, even if their band sizes are identical. These VNTR loci are very polymorphic and thus are very powerful in excluding falsely accused men and in providing inclusionary evidence in true biologic relationships