Open AccessMicrosatellites in varied arenas of research
Author(s) -
K Remya,
Sigimol Joseph,
P. K. Lakshmi,
S Akhila
Publication year - 2010
Publication title -
journal of pharmacy and bioallied sciences
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.268
H-Index - 36
eISSN - 0976-4879
pISSN - 0975-7406
DOI - 10.4103/0975-7406.67004
Subject(s) - microsatellite , genetics , biology , tandem repeat , evolutionary biology , computational biology , population , medicine , genome , gene , allele , environmental health
Microsatellites known as simple-sequence repeats (SSRs) or short-tandem repeats (STRs), represent specific sequences of DNA consisting of tandemly repeated units of one to six nucleotides. The repetitive nature of microsatellites makes them particularly prone to grow or shrink in length and these changes can have both good and bad consequences for the organisms that possess them. They are responsible for various neurological diseases and hence the same cause is now utilized for the early detection of various diseases, such as, Schizophrenia and Bipolar Disorder, Congenital generalized Hypertrichosis, Asthma, and Bronchial Hyperresponsiveness. These agents are widely used for forensic identification and relatedness testing, and are predominant genetic markers in this area of application. The application of microsatellites is an extending web and covers the varied scenarios of science, such as, conservation biology, plant genetics, and population studies. At present, researches are progressing round the globe to extend the use of these genetic repeaters to unmask the hidden genetic secrets behind the creation of the world.