| dc.description.abstract | Amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP) is a marker based on polymerase chain reaction
amplification of restricted fragments ligated to synthetic adaptors and amplified using primers which carry
selective nucleotides at their 3’ ends. The technique generates highly reproducible markers from DNA of
any organism and allows high resolution genotyping. AFLP has broad applications and has been used to
investigate genomes of different complexity from microbes to higher organisms for purposes of species,
strains and varieties identification, systematics, pathotyping, population genetics, simple and complex trait
mapping, population genetics, construction of linkage and physical maps. In addition, it is being used in
medical diagnostics, forensic analysis and microbial typing. AFLP is superior compared to other markers in
that it has time efficiency, generates more information, is highly reproducible and has a wide range of
applications. The marker has a drawback in that it generates dominant rather than co-dominant markers
and can also be expensive if automated systems are used. | en |
