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Riboprinting: A Tool for the Study of Genetic Diversity in Microorganisms 1
Author(s) -
CLARK C. GRAHAM
Publication year - 1997
Publication title -
journal of eukaryotic microbiology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.067
H-Index - 77
eISSN - 1550-7408
pISSN - 1066-5234
DOI - 10.1111/j.1550-7408.1997.tb05667.x
Subject(s) - biology , phylogenetic tree , organism , phylogenetics , evolutionary biology , ribosomal rna , genetic diversity , restriction enzyme , genetics , polymerase chain reaction , gene , ribosomal dna , dna , model organism , computational biology , population , demography , sociology
. Classical morphology‐based methods of taxonomic and phylogenetic analysis are inadequate in many groups of structurally simple eukaryotes. Molecular methods can generate data independently of the complexity of the organisms’ morphology. Riboprinting is one such technique, and involves restriction enzyme analysis of polymerase chain reaction amplified small subunit ribosomal RNA genes. The utility of the method is illustrated with examples from several genera of intestinal and bloodstream parasites. Among the applications of riboprinting are the detection of cryptic genetic variation within species, organism misidentifications and culture mix‐ups, independent verification of DNA sequences, and the rapid generation of data useful in phylogenetic analyses.