Pooling DNA in the identification of parents

The preliminary pooling of DNA samples to reduce the number of tests required to identify which of a set of potential parents could be the parent of an individual progeny plant is discussed. The progeny plant may be homozygous or heterozygous at the marker locus involved and the marker alleles of the other parent plant may or may not be known. The expected number of tests is derived for varying pool sizes when the DNA of each parent plant is in one and only one DNA pool. Optimal pool sizes are calculated for a range of number of potential parents and of marker allele frequencies. Designs with each parent in more than one pool and the sequential use of up to three independent marker loci are also discussed.