Microsatellites are widely used as genetic markers
because they are co-dominant, multiallelic, easily
scored and highly polymorphic. A major drawback of
microsatellite markers is the time and cost required to
characterise them. We have developed a novel technique
to reduce this cost by producing a microsatelliterich
PCR profile from genomic DNA which was cloned
to yield a genomic library enriched for microsatellites.
Sequence data and subsequent allele scoring within
pedigrees revealed that these microsatellites retained
their original repeat length and segregated normally.
This technique permits genomic amplification with
only one specific primer. Together with enrichment, the
savings in primer costs reduces the cost of microsatellite
characterisation considerably.