FINGERPRINTING CYANOBIONTS AND HOSTS OF THE AZOLLA SYMBIOSIS BY DNA AMPLIFICATION

Cyanobionts of six species of the aquatic fern Azolla were evaluated b y specific and random DNA profiles amplified by the DNA polymerase cha in reaction. Simultaneous examination of the prokaryotic Anabaena azol lae and the host was achieved using primers for the chloroplast-encode d intron of the tRNA-Leucine (UAA) gene. These amplified trnL intron s izes, restriction fragment length polymorphisms of the amplified 16s r RNA gene, and random amplified polymorphic DNAs demonstrated the capac ity of this method for the rapid assessment of similarities among Anab aena azollae and minor Anabaena isolates from Azolla.