ARBITRARY PRIMER PCR OF DOG DNA WITH ESTIMATES OF AVERAGE HETEROZYGOSITY

Arbitrary primer polymerase chain reaction (AP-PCR) detected anonymous DNA polymorphisms between individual representatives of seven breeds of dogs, between members of a single breed, and between members of a s ingle family of dogs, Short arbitrary sequence PCR primers and promote r/protein motif sequence primers typically amplified 15-30 bands rangi ng from 200-2000 bp in length, The average heterozygosity of 10 line b red Belgian sheepdogs (H = 0.024 +/- 0.011, mean +/- 95% CI) was signi ficantly lower than that of a panel of unrelated beagles (H = 0.057 +/ - 0.018, mean +/- 95% CI, P<.01), The average heterozygosity of a seve n-breed panel was intermediate between the two (H = 0.043 +/- 0.011, m ean +/- 95% CI) and not significantly different than either panel, One motif sequence PCR primer pair yielded products that strongly differe ntiated between Belgian sheepdogs, beagles, and members of five other breeds, AP-PCR could be used to generate DNA fingerprints that disting uish between dog breeds, as well as to provide markers in this sparsel y mapped genome.