FISH and GISH: Modern cytogenetic techniques

Abstract

In recent years, advances in the molecular cytogenetic technique of fluorescence <i style="">in situ</i> hybridization (FISH), which enables the direct chromosomal localization of labelled DNA probes and genomic <i style="">in situ</i> hybridization (GISH), which determines the inter-species distribution of repeated sequences have enabled a resurgence of cytogenetic analysis in plant genome research and molecular breeding. Practical applications of these techniques in chromosome mapping, genome analysis, determination of phylogenetic relationship, detection of chromosomal aberrations and alien chromatin in plant breeding programmes, study of chromosome organization at interphase nuclei and analysis of somaclonal variations in tissue culture have been presented.