Mj. Bagley et al., POLYMORPHIC MOLECULAR MARKERS FROM ANONYMOUS NUCLEAR-DNA FOR GENETIC-ANALYSIS OF POPULATIONS, Molecular ecology, 6(4), 1997, pp. 309-320
A simple method is presented for developing polymorphic, anonymous DNA
markers suitable for population genetic studies. Anonymous DNA fragme
nts are screened for sequence variability using a common mutation dete
ction technique (single strand conformation polymorphism analysis; SSC
P) and locus-specific PCR primers are designed for polymorphic DNA fra
gments. Detection of the markers by SSCP analysis coupled with sequenc
e analysis of SSCP variants allows rapid screening while retaining inf
ormation about the genealogical relationship among alleles. Variabilit
y detected for six markers was assessed in rainbow trout Oncorhynchus
mykiss and was compared with variability detected by similar analysis
of intron loci. Between three and 12 distinct alleles were observed at
each marker locus, and average within-population heterozygosity range
d from 0.12 to 0.44. Advantages and limitations of the methodology for
population genetic analysis are discussed.