Randomly amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) is a technique that is useful as a rapid means of comparing and discriminating the DNA from different individuals. RAPD is based on random priming--the use of short pieces of DNA that bind to many random places...

RAPD stands for random amplification of polymorphic DNA. It is a type of PCR reaction, but the segments of DNA that are amplified are random. The scientist performing RAPD creates several arbitrary, short primers (8-12 nucleotides), then proceeds with...