Multiple mismatch annealing: basis for random amplified polymorphic DNA fingerprinting.

In order to investigate the possible mechanism underlying the random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) fingerprinting, we examined the origin and the nucleotide sequences of RAPD bands. Our data suggest that a number of sites in the genome are flanked by perfect or imperfect invert repeats, which permit multiple mismatch-annealing to occur between the single primer and the template DNA and eventually lead to the exponential amplification of the encompassing DNA segments.