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Cost‐effective fluorescent amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP) analyses using a three primer system
Author(s) -
STÖLTING KAI N.,
CLARKE ANDREW C.,
MEUDT HEIDI M.,
BLANKENHORN WOLF U.,
WILSON ANTHONY B.
Publication year - 2011
Publication title -
molecular ecology resources
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.96
H-Index - 136
eISSN - 1755-0998
pISSN - 1755-098X
DOI - 10.1111/j.1755-0998.2010.02957.x
Subject(s) - amplified fragment length polymorphism , biology , genotyping , dna sequencer , computational biology , primer (cosmetics) , dna , labelling , fluorescent labelling , genetics , fluorescence , genotype , dna sequencing , genetic diversity , gene , biochemistry , population , chemistry , demography , organic chemistry , sociology , physics , quantum mechanics
The amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP) technique is a widely used multi‐purpose DNA fingerprinting tool. The ability to size‐separate fluorescently labelled AFLP fragments on a capillary electrophoresis instrument has provided a means for high‐throughput genome screening, an approach particularly useful in studying the molecular ecology of nonmodel organisms. While the ‘per‐marker‐generated’ costs for AFLP are low, fluorescently labelled oligonucleotides remain costly. We present a cost‐effective method for fluorescently end‐labelling AFLPs that should make this tool more readily accessible for laboratories with limited budgets. Both standard fluorescent AFLPs and the end‐labelled alternatives presented here are repeatable and produce similar numbers of fragments when scored using both manual and automated scoring methods. While it is not recommended to combine data using the two approaches, the results of the methods are qualitatively comparable, indicating that AFLP end‐labelling is a robust alternative to standard methods of AFLP genotyping. For researchers commencing a new AFLP project, the AFLP end‐labelling method outlined here is easily implemented, as it does not require major changes to PCR protocols and can significantly reduce the costs of AFLP studies.