Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) primers for the amplification of five nuclear introns in vertebrates

[Extract] Advancements in evolutionary genetics, as well as the conservation of biodiversity, increasingly require direct analyses of sequence variation in nuclear DNA. Recent studies indicate that nuclear introns have variabilities useful for both phylogenetics and population genetics (reviewed in Friesen 2000); however, use of introns is currently limited by the paucity of polymerase chain reaction (PCR) primers that have been demonstrated to have broad taxonomic utility (although several primers with less general or uncertain utilities have been published; reviewed in Friesen 2000). We have designed 30 general PCR primers for nuclear introns for vertebrates.