Assessing the limits of random amplified polymorphic DNAs (RAPDs) in seaweed biogeography

Abstract

As judged by comparison with other molecular data sets, random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) data are robust in identifying large-scale biogeographic populations that range from hundreds to thousands of kilometers apart. As the geographical scale is shifted downward, however, RAPD data often fail. This is because RAPD data are inherently 'noisy' as a result of technical artifacts and reproducibility problems associated with non- independence of bands, 'missing' bands, and the presence of de novo bands, all of which contribute to scoring errors in the data set. To estimate the contribution of these error factors in algal phylogeographic studies, segregation of RAPD bands in tetrasphorophyt..