Amplified Fragment Length Polymorphism

AFLP® is a DNA fingerprinting technique which detects DNA restriction fragments by means of PCR amplification.

The AFLP® technology usually comprises of the following steps:

The restriction of the DNA with two restriction enzymes, preferably a hexa-cutter and a tetra-cutter;
The ligation of double-stranded (ds) adapters to the ends of the restriction fragments;
The amplification of a subset of the restriction fragments using two primers complementary to the adapter and restriction site sequences, and extended at their 3' ends by "selective" nucleotides (see Figures 1 and 2);
Gel electrophoresis of the amplified restriction fragments on denaturing polyacrylamide gels ("sequence gels");
The visualization of the DNA fingerprints by means of autoradiography, phospho-imaging, or other methods. For more information about AFLP please visit: http://www.keygene.com/html/aflp.htm