An Improved Nonfluorescent Detection System for in Situ Hybridization in Plants

Molecular cytogenetics, particularly the localization of DNA sequences by in situ hybridization, has increased our understanding about the genomic structure of plants and animals. We demonstrate here the application of an improved nonfluorescent in situ hybridization system detection (DAKO GenPoint system) to plant chromosomes. Using this system, highly repetitive 18S-25S rRNA genes were mapped on Vicia faba chromosomes (2n = 12). The modified method of this horseradish peroxidase based enzymatic detection system gave satisfactory results that are comparable to fluorescent signal detection.