DNA FINGERPRINTING OF OIL PALM CHOICE OF TISSUES

摘要

DNA profiling, now commonly used in forensic investigations, can also be used for genetic identification of plants. It is usually stated that for such purpose any tissue from an organism can be used since the DNA is the same throughout. This generalization was tested on the different tissues from oil palm seedlings using 17 PCR-based simple sequence repeat primers. The tissues were those routinely available to a DNA marker laboratory for early screening in a breeding programme. Contrary to the generalization, the different tissues did not always give identical DNA profiles but depended on the primers used. This could be due to dissimilar DNA methylation of the different tissues resulting in quantitative polymorphism detected by some of the primers. While such primers may be useful for tracking changes, such as during development in tissue culture, only the more robust markers would be suitable for routine marker assisted selection in breeding.