E.M. Gatphoh, S.K. Sharma, K. Rajkumari and S. Rama Rao
Published: July 19, 2011
Genet. Mol. Res. 10 (3): 1416-1426
DOI: 10.4238/vol10-3gmr1083

Cite this Article:
E.M. Gatphoh, S.K. Sharma, K. Rajkumari and S. Rama Rao (2011). Enhanced utility of primer-pair arrays compared to conventional RAPD method in genetic variation analysis of two species of Cucumis. Genet. Mol. Res. 10(3): 1416-1426. 10.4238/vol10-3gmr1083

About the Authors:
E.M. Gatphoh, S.K. Sharma, K. Rajkumari and S. Rama Rao
Corresponding author: S. Rama Rao
E-mail: srrao22@yahoo.com / srrao@mail.com

ABSTRACT
The efficacy of random primer-pair arrays compared to conventional RAPD method with a single decamer primer was evaluated using DNA from two species of Cucumis. The banding patterns of amplicons revealed enhanced utility of primer-pair arrays over conventional RAPDs, producing more bands and a higher degree of polymorphism, both at intra- and inter-specific levels. Amplification produced by both methods clearly distinguished a wild from a cultivated species of the genus Cucumis. The main advantage of the primer-pair RAPD over single-primer-based RAPD is the increase in the number of reactions and amplification products in the form of novel/unique bands with a limited number of primers. It also enables the generation of reliable amplicons with a large number of polymorphic bands, which can be linked to gene-governing traits, allowing sequence-characterized partial genome analysis.

Key words: Primer-pair arrays, RAPD, Novel bands, Efficacy, Genetic variation.