A type of DNA marker, generated by digestion of genomic DNA with two restriction enzymes to create many DNA fragments, ligation of specific sequences of DNA (called adaptors) to the ends of these fragments, amplification of the fragments via PCR (using a set of primers with sequences corresponding to the adapters, plus various random combinations of three additional bases at the end), and visualization of fragments via gel electrophoresis. The PCR will amplify any fragment whose sequence happens to start with any of the three-base sequences in the set of primers. AFLPs have the important advantage that many markers can be generated with relatively little effort. They are a very useful means of quantifying the extent of genetic diversity within and between populations. Their major disadvantage is that they are not specific to a particular locus and, because they are scored as the presence or absence of a band, heterozygotes cannot be distinguished from homozygotes, i.e., they are inherited in a dominant fashion.