ARS | Publication request: MINISATELLITE SEQUENCES AND THEIR APPLICATION FOR DNA FINGERPRINTING IN RICE

Submitted to: Canadian Genetics Society
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: May 10, 1998
Publication Date: N/A

Technical Abstract: Regions containing minisatellites usually show high levels of polymorphism in both animals and plants, thus are capable of detecting individual DNA fingerprints. Variation in the tandem repeat copy number are considered the cause of the observed variation. In plants, minisatellites are being used to study genetic variation and to fingerprint germplasm and cultivars. Rice minisatellite sequences were cloned by virtue of their ability to cross-hybridize with the human minisatellite 33.6. The rice minisatellites isolated revealed that they share significant homology with the human 33.6 minisatellite core sequence. They detect multiple alleles, which show substantial polymorphism among cultivars. Cluster analysis of genetic distance is capable of grouping cultivars into units depending on pedigrees. DNA fingerprinting with minisatellites can address questions relevant to systematics and breeding. Minisatellites appear to be more sensitive in detecting genetic variation than other genetic marker systems. Like other methods, such as isozyme and RFLPs, DNA fingerprinting has great potential for practical use in plant breeding and germplasm evaluation.