Review
Nature Reviews Genetics 5, 435-445 (June 2004) | doi:10.1038/nrg1348
Microsatellites: simple sequences with complex evolution
Hans Ellegren1 About the author
Abstract
Few genetic markers, if any, have found such widespread use as microsatellites, or simple/short tandem repeats. Features such as hypervariability and ubiquitous occurrence explain their usefulness, but these features also pose several questions. For example, why are microsatellites so abundant, why are they so polymorphic and by what mechanism do they mutate? Most importantly, what governs the intricate balance between the frequent genesis and expansion of simple repetitive arrays, and the fact that microsatellite repeats rarely reach appreciable lengths? In other words, how do microsatellites evolve?
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Author affiliations
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Department of Evolutionary Biology, Evolutionary Biology Centre, Uppsala University, Norbyvägen 18D, SE-752 36 Uppsala, Sweden.
Email: Hans.Ellegren@ebc.uu.se
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