How microsatellites are used in genetic studies?

Microsatellite markers are inherited from both parents, making them useful for parentage analysis (think paternity testing) and population genetic studies. These different allele frequencies increase the potential to observe genetic differences between populations if they exist.

Can microsatellites be genetically mapped?

Although sequence-based physical maps can provide a unique order for markers, they do not provide information on genetic map distances. The number of meioses necessary to accurately estimate map distances depends greatly not only on intermarker distances but also on marker heterozygosity.

Why are microsatellites used in DNA profiling?

Microsatellites are the most widely applied molecular markers in population genetic studies, conservation genetics, and paternity tests because the markers are codominant, highly reproducible, and can be obtained by the PCR once primers can be developed (Ellegren 2004).

Are there microsatellites in mitochondrial DNA?

Microsatellites were evaluated as genetic markers for the mitochondrial genome (mtDNA) of Phytophthora cinnamomi for population studies. A further three (A)n microsatellite loci obtained from the complete mtDNA sequence of P. infestans were also not highly polymorphic, although located in non-coding mtDNA.

What makes a microsatellite a powerful genetic marker?

The major characteristic that makes microsatellites as useful and powerful genetic tool is the extensive length polymorphism that first of all reflects allelic variation in the number of the tandemly arranged perfect repeats. Microsatellite are generally considered as the most powerful genetic marker.

Where are microsatellites located in the human genome?

Microsatellites are TRs of base pairs that are widely spread throughout the genome. Microsatellites are located in the coding and noncoding regions. Microsatellite markers are codominant, abundant, and multiallelic and play an important role in the study of molecular population genetics, positional cloning, QTL mapping,…

How are microsatellites used in the medical field?

They serve a role in biomedical diagnosis as markers for certain disease conditions. That is, certain microsatellite alleles are associated (through genetic linkage) with certain mutations in coding regions of the DNA that can cause a variety of medical disorders.

How are microsatellites used in forensic identification cases?

Microsatellite loci, are widely used for forensic identification and are a predominant genetic marker in this area of application. In forensic identification cases, the goal is typically to link a suspect with a sample of blood, semen or hair taken from a criminal.