Typing dinucleotide repeat loci using microplate array diagonal gel electrophoresis: proof of principle

Abstract

Polymorphic dinucleotide repeat loci ('microsatellite markers') are found in varying abundance throughout the genomes of most organisms. They have been extensively used for genetic studies, but conventional techniques used for their genotyping require sophisticated equipment. Microplate array diagonal gel electrophoresis (MADGE) has previously been extended to economical high-throughput genotyping of trinucleotide and tetranucleotide microsatellite amplicons. However, the capability of this technique to resolve the alleles of dinucleotide repeat loci has not been explored previously. Here we show that a modified microsatellite-MADGE approach can provide sufficient resolution for dinucleotide repeat typing. This enables economical and convenient set up for analysis of single markers in many samples in parallel, suitable, for example, for population association studies.