| Exotic maize germplasm, shown to be useful for developing improved temperate cultivars, has remained little used partly because of many inherent shortcomings. Molecular markers allow the identification of genetic factors underlying the expression of agronomic traits and can also facilitate their introgression from donor (exotic) into recipient (US) germplasm. However, cost and time involved in molecular marker analyses are still limiting factors for most breeding applications.;Five F;Three molecular marker technologies, RFLPs based on chemiluminescence, RFLPs based on radioactivity, and RAPDs, were compared in terms of cost and time efficiencies using simulations of maize genotyping projects. RAPDs were the most cost-efficient strategy when small sample sizes were to be analyzed. RFLPs were the least expensive methods for large numbers of individuals. Relative time efficiencies were comparable to cost efficiencies, except that RFLPs based on radioactivity always required more time than RFLPs based on chemiluminescence. The choice of a molecular marker strategy should be determined by the type and amount of information sought, the availability of markers or previous information for the species, and the ability to integrate the generated information into a general database. |
