Types of Molecular Markers: Principles, Methods and Uses

On the basis of the principles and methods employed, DNA-based molecular markers can be broadly classified in the following four groups:

(i) hybridization based markers,
(ii) PCR based markers,
(iii) molecular markers based on PCR followed by hybridization, and
(iv) sequencing and DNA chip based markers. Each of these four types will be briefly described in this section, which should make the basis for further discussion in different chapters of this book on a variety of uses of molecular markers.

For a more detailed account on molecular markers, readers may like to consult the books "DNA-Based Molecular Markers in Plants" and "Molecular Techniques in Crop Improvement" both published by

Kluwer Academic Publishers in 1994 (also 2nd edition published in 2001) and 2002 respectively, and also a number of reviews published during 1990 2002.