Patent ID: 8551738

Claim:
A system, comprising: a) at least one mass spectrometer having a component that measures-molecular masses of overlapping amplification products representing sub-segments of a nucleic acid; b) at least one computer comprising a processor; c) at least one database of base compositions of overlapping amplification products on a computer readable medium wherein said base compositions identify the number but not the nucleic acid gene sequence order of A residues, C residues, T residues, G residues and analogs thereof in a plurality of said overlapping amplification products; and d) software that directs said processor to calculate base compositions of said overlapping amplification products from said molecular masses wherein said base compositions identify the number but not the nucleic acid gene sequence order of A residues, C residues, T residues, G residues and analogs thereof in said amplification products, and that identifies a source of said nucleic acid from said base compositions by comparing said determined base compositions to base compositions in said at least one database.