Utilization of existing isozyme analysis facilities to detect sequence-tagged microsatellite site (STMS) polymorphism or any simple sequence repeat (SSR) variation is described. Different parameters concerning the difficulties in transferring molecular techniques to less sophisticated laboratory infrastructures (i.e. tropical outstations) are discussed (e.g. reproducibility, efficacy, precision). Nonradioactive STMS analysis is bound to foster collaborative research between "biodiversity" and "biotechnology" centers.