分子进化与基因组多样性（张亚平）知识库

微卫星是广泛分布于真核生物基因组中的短串联重复序列(1-5bp),具有突变速率快、多态性高等特性。已被广泛应用于生物遗传作图、群体遗传研究、个体间亲缘关系鉴定等方面。简要论述了微卫星的突变、位点的分离、数据的收集、在生物学中的应用及其存在的缺陷。

Microsatellites are tandem repeats of short nucleotide motifs (1-5 bp long) dispersing widely and relatively evenly in eukaryotic genomes.The high degree of allelic diversity at each microsatellite locus provides ideal Mendelian markers for population and pedigree analysis.Understanding of microsatellite mutational m echanism will be helpful to appropriately use microsatellite markers for biological studies.Here we introduce the latest progress in microsatellite research,including its mutation,mutational mechanism,application (especially in relationship identification),as well as its pitfalls.