SINGLE-LOCUS MICROSATELLITES ISOLATED USING 5'-ANCHORED PCR

Microsatellites are widely used as genetic markers because they are co -dominant, multiallelic, easily scored and highly polymorphic. A major drawback of microsatellite markers is the time and cost required to c haracterise them. We have developed a novel technique to reduce this c ost by producing a microsatellite-rich PCR profile from genomic DNA wh ich was cloned to yield a genomic library enriched for microsatellites . Sequence data and subsequent allele scoring within pedigrees reveale d that these microsatellites retained their original repeat length and segregated normally. This technique permits genomic amplification wit h only one specific primer. Together with enrichment, the savings in p rimer costs reduces the cost of microsatellite characterisation consid erably.