A PNA microarray for tomato genotyping

The design and development of a PNA microarray designed for the simultaneous identification of several SNPs characteristic of seven different tomato varieties is described. Highly selective arginine-based monomer containing PNAs (Arg-PNAs) have been used in order to obtain very selective probes. Seven modified PNA probes were synthesised and their binding properties in solution were studied. PNA-microarrays based on these probes were prepared and applied to SNP discrimination in model experiments using oligonucleotide mixtures simulating the different sequences of the seven tomato varieties. The strength and the limitations of such a system for SNP recognition are thoroughly discussed.