L'uso della genotipizzazione molecolare in ambito vegetale

The Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) is a molecular biology technique to amplify a single or few copies of a piece of DNA across several orders of magnitude, generating thousands to millions of copies of a particular DNA sequence. Developed in 1983 by Kary Mullis, PCR is now a routinely and often indispensable technique used in medical and biological research labs for a variety of applications. These include DNA cloning for sequencing, DNA-based phylogeny, or functional analysis of genes; the diagnosis of hereditary diseases; the identification of genetic fingerprints (fingerprinting and genotyping), and the detection and diagnosis of infectious diseases. Its use in so many applications is mainly due to its flexibility, velocity and reproducibility. We developed and used three different PCR-based approaches to genotype, identify and characterize three different typology of maize mutation in spontaneous, insertional and transgenic mutants.