PCR AMPLIFICATION OF A POLYMORPHIC MINISATELLITE VNTR LOCUS IN WHITING (MERLANGIUS-MERLANGUS L)

An approach has been developed for the screening of allelic variation at minisatellite DNA loci that substantially reduces the time and haza rds involved. Primers were designed for a minisatel+; lite region isol ated hem a gadoid fish species (Merlangius merlangus L.), enabling amp lification by polymerase chain reaction, so that differences in the nu mber of minisatellite repeat units (allelic variability) were detectab le by ethidium bromide fluorescence (over UV light) following separati on by agarose gel electrophoresis. This amplifiable minisatellite vari able number tandem repeat region, the first non-primate marker of its kind, can be used successfully with DNA extracted by a rapid Chelex(R) protocol. From a sample of 97 individuals, 24 alleles were resolved ( 750-2200 kb) and heterozygosity was estimated at 0.94.