Molecular Techniques in Taxonomy [Paperback]

Taxonomy is fundamental to understanding the variety of lifeforms, and exciting expansions in molecular biology are re-volutionising the obtained data. This volume reviews the ma-jor molecular biological techniques that are applied in ta-xonomy. The chapters are arranged in three main sections:1)Overviews of important topics in molecular taxonomy; 2) Casestudies of the successful application of molecular methodsto taxonomic and evolutionary questions; 3) Protocols for arange of generally applicable methods. The described techni-ques include DNA-DNA hybridization, DNA fingerprinting, RFLPanalysis, and PCR sequencing.Proceedings of the NATO Advanced Study Institute of Molecular Techniques in Taxonomy held in Norwich (England), July 9-20, 1990Taxonomy is fundamental to understanding the variety of lifeforms, and exciting expansions in molecular biology are re-volutionising the obtained data. This volume reviews the ma-jor molecular biological techniques that are applied in ta-xonomy. The chapters are arranged in three main sections:1)Overviews of important topics in molecular taxonomy; 2) Casestudies of the successful application of molecular methodsto taxonomic and evolutionary questions; 3) Protocols for arange of generally applicable methods. The described techni-ques include DNA-DNA hybridization, DNA fingerprinting, RFLPanalysis, and PCR sequencing.A Prologue.- Past and Future of Taxonomy.- Overviews.- Taxonomy: an Essential Key to Evolutionary Biology.- Variation at the DNA Level: Something for Everyone.- Molecular Systematics at the Species Boundary: Exploiting Conserved and Variable Regions of the Mitochondrial Genome of Animals via Direct Sequencing from Amplified DNA.- Ribosomal RNA Phylogenies.- Evaluating Gene Versus Genome Evolution.- DNA and Higher Plant Systematics: Some Examples From the Legumes.- DNA-DNA Hybridization: Principles and Results.- Satellite DNA.- DNA Fingerprinting.- The Statistical Interpretation ls