SSCP is not so difficult: the application and utility of single-stranded conformation polymorphism in evolutionary biology and molecular ecology

All genetic markers are estimators of DNA nucleotide sequence variation. Ra ther than obtaining DNA sequence data, it is cheaper and faster to use tech niques that estimate sequence variation, although this usually results in t he loss of some information. SSCP (single-stranded conformation polymorphis m) offers a sensitive but inexpensive, rapid, and convenient method for det ermining which DNA samples in a set differ in sequence, so that only an inf ormative subset need be sequenced. In short, most DNA sequence variation ca n be detected with relatively little sequencing. SSCP has been widely appli ed in medical diagnosis, yet few studies have been published in population genetics. The utility and convenience of SSCP is far from fully appreciated by molecular population biologists. We hope to help redress this by illust rating the application of a single simple SSCP protocol to mitochondrial ge nes, nuclear introns, microsatellites, and anonymous nuclear sequences, in a range of vertebrates and invertebrates.