CONSTRUCTION OF A PHYLOGENETIC TREE FOR INBRED STRAINS OF RAT BY ARBITRARILY PRIMED POLYMERASE CHAIN-REACTION (AP-PCR)

We constructed a tentative genealogic tree of 13 inbred rat strains us ing genetic markers identified by the AP-PCR (Arbitrarily Primed Polym erase Chain Reaction) technique, which consists of PCR amplification u nder low stringency conditions, with only one oligonucleotide as both forward and reverse primers. We obtained discrete-state genotypes of 2 64 loci, presumably covering the whole rat genome. Computational analy sis of this panel allowed the construction of a genealogic tree repres enting the relations among the 13 strains. The accordance of the prese nt results with available data on the histories of some of these strai ns validates the use of the AP-PCR technique for studies on phylogeny.