DNA fingerprinting in non-human populations

DNA fingerprinting of non-human populations is beginning to fulfill its early promise, and in the past year there has been a flush of papers on mammalian breeding systems. However, many people, particularly field workers, believe that progress in this area has been slow. Attention is now focused on two amenable alternatives: microsatellite polymorphisms and randomly amplified polymorphic DNA. Of these, it is probable that microsatellites hold the key to rapid, efficient and highly informative screening of the genetic variability that exists within natural populations.