Plant Diversity ›› 2014, Vol. 36 ›› Issue (06): 723-729.DOI: 10.7677/ynzwyj201414053

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Null Allele Detection in Plant Microsatellite Studies: Comparisons and Applications

 HOU  Meng-1、2, DU  Fang-1   

  1. 1 College of Forestry, Beijing Forestry Unversity, Beijing 100083, China; 2 School of Life Science, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou 730000, China
  • Received:2014-03-28 Online:2014-11-25 Published:2014-07-16
  • Supported by:

    国家自然基金青年项目 (41201051),中央高校基本业务经费 (TD201201),111引智计划 (B13007)和教育部创新团队发展计划 (IRT13047)

Abstract:

Microsatellites remain the most popular markers in the studies of population genetics, conservation biology and molecular ecology because of its ease to development, high mutation rate and lowcost. Nowadays, the improvement of new technologies, such as NextGeneration Sequencing (NGS), multiplexPCR and capillary electrophoresis system have greatly promoted the development and using of microsatellite markers. However, null alleles, one of the most primary defects of microsatellite markers, widely presented in the studies using microsatellite markers, may lead to biased results. Unfortunately, the detection of null alleles has not been paid enough attention. In this review, we attempted to construct an indepth and comprehensive understanding on null alleles detection, and then, applied a detailed comparison for the different methods used to detect the occurrence of null alleles. Finally, we propose a meaningful suggestion for null allele’s detection in plant.

Key words: Null alleles, Microsatellite, HardyWeinberg Equilibrium method, Progeny tests method

CLC Number: