Molecular markers and their applications in wheat breeding

In recent years, considerable emphasis has been placed on the development of molecular markers to be used for a variety of objectives. This review attempts to give an account of different molecular markers—restriction fragment length polymorphisms (RFLPs), random amplified polymorphic DNAs (RAPDs), sequence‐tagged sites (STS), DNA amplification fingerprinting (DAF), amplified fragment length polymorphisms (AFLPs) and microsatellites (STMS)—currently available for genome mapping and for tagging different traits in wheat. Other markers, including microsatellite‐primed polymerase chain reaction (MP‐PCR), expressed sequence tags (ESTs) and single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) are also discussed. Recent information on synteny in cereal genomes, marker‐assisted selection, marker validation and their relevance to cereal breeding in general and wheat breeding in particular are also examined.