The use of retrotransposon-based molecular markers to analyze genetic diversity

Abstract

Molecular markers play an essential role in all aspects of genetics, modern plant breeding, in human forensics, for map-based cloning of genes, ranging from the identification of genes responsible for desired traits to the management of backcrossing programs. Retrotransposons are well suited as molecular markers. As dispersed and ubiquitous transposable elements, their “copy and paste” life cycle of replicative transposition leads to new genome insertions without excision of the original element. Both the overall structure of retrotransposons and the domains responsible for the various phases of their replication are highly conserved in all eukaryotes. Following the demonstration that retrotransposons are ubiquitous, active, and abundant in plant genomes, various marker systems were developed to exploit polymorphisms in retrotransposon insertion patterns. This review provides an insight into the spectrum of retrotransposon-based marker systems developed for plant species and evaluates the contributions of retrotransposon markers to the analysis of genetic diversity in plants and the way for the rapid isolation of retrotransposon termini.