Plant & Animal Genome V Conference
Town & Country Hotel, San Diego, CA, January 12-16, 1997.
PAG-V: W7 - AFLP IN BIODIVERSITY STUDIES
W7
AFLP IN BIODIVERSITY STUDIES
TOHME, JOE, Meredith Bonierbale, Ana Lucia Caicedo, Myriam Duque, Steve Beebe
International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT), AA 6713, Cali, Colombia
The characterization of genetic diversity, its structure and its relationship to geographic origin and environmental parameters are critical to systematic, cost-effective conservation and utilization. Such knowledge impinges upon decisions about which germplasm should be conserved, the methodologies for its conservation and strategies for recombining useful genes. AFLP fingerprinting, combined with appropriate statistical tools, offers many advantages over other available markers in evaluating genetic diversity, especially for species for which little or no information about genetic structure exists. The technique is highly reproducible and does not require prior development of libraries. The primers can be used over a wide range of organisms. AFLP fingerprinting analysis to evaluate intra- and interspecific variability of South American palms, and of species of Phaseolus and Manihot will be presented. Criteria for the selection of AFLP primer combinations and numbers of primers for use in diversity studies will be discussed.