Expressed sequence tags (ESTs) and single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs): Emerging molecular marker tools for improving agronomic traits in plant biotechnology

Expressed Sequence Tags (ESTs) and Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms (SNPs) are providing in depth knowledge in plant biology, breeding and biotechnology. The emergence of many novel molecular marker techniques are changing and accelerating the process of producing mutations in plant molecular biology research. This coupled with the availability of cheap sequencing techniques and access to a complete genome sequence has been shown to complement traditional marker-based approaches. Expressed Sequence Tags (ESTs) have provided an important source for the study of Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms (SNPs) in plants. SNP markers have become popular, partly because of their high density within the genome and also their ease with which they are characterized. This review also focuses on some methods used in genotyping SNPs.