Identification of cultivars and selections, pedigree analysis, estimation of genetic relatedness and genome mapping — all of these objects are achieved with various methods of DNA fingerprinting which can distinguish even closely related genotypes. Initial results were obtained by a variation of the well-known RFLP-technique (Restriction Fragment Length Polymorphism): hybridization of restriction enzyme-digested DNA samples with hypervariable minisatellite DNA probes. Technical improvements, including a number of additional DNA probes and various DNA fragment detection methods, have since been published. With the recent advent of the PCR technique (Polymerase Chain Reaction) and PCR-based methods like RAPD (Random Amplified Polymorphic DNA), DNA fingerprinting has widened its applicability and attracted a growing number of scientists.