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The development of
molecular DNA markers for genetic analysis has greatly increased our
understanding of the structure and behaviour of plant genomes. Different DNA
marker technologies exist, however, information suggests that restriction
fragment polymorphisms, amplified fragment length polymorphisms and also
microsatellites are currently the most effective techniques for the detection
of polymorphisms in plant genomes. Several other technologies, such as cDNA-amplified
fragment length polymorphism, representational difference analysis or
suppression subtractive hybridisation analysis, and cDNA microarrays, belong to
a range of novel techniques very useful for the analysis of transcriptome
variation, under specific stressful environmental conditions. However, the
application of these technologies especially in Africa is not trivial, as
execution of these techniques is largely dependent upon the availability of a
technological advanced infrastructure, technical skills in plant molecular
biology and substantial funding of the research groups involved in this type of
research. Different molecular DNA-based marker techniques and their application
to genome analysis and molecular breeding, and suitability for use in Africa, are discussed in this review.

South African Journal of Botany
2004, 70(1): 152–166