Genetic Relationships inMalusEvaluated by RAPD ‘Fingerprinting’ of Cultivars and Wild Species

摘要

AbstractThe potential use of RAPD markers for taxonomic studies inMaluswas investigated using 18 accessions of wild species and 27 apple cultivars. 29 preselected random decamer primers were applied to three sets ofMalusgenotypes. Random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) ‘fingerprints’ were analysed for polymorphic amplification fragments, and coefficients estimating genetic similarity were calculated on the basis of about 50 polymorphic RAPD loci in each set of genotypes. Cluster analysis by an unweighted pair‐group method with arithmetic averages (UPGMA) revealed that, in the cultivars, the molecular classification was in good agreement with the known lineage. A dendrogram generated for the wild species gave relationships that were, in principle, in accordance with the known phylogenetic information. Closely related species from section I were clearly distinguishable from those of sections III and IV. On the molecular level, a high degree of genetic diversity was found among both different apple cultivars and wild species of the genusMalus.The results gave additional evidence for the hypothesis thatM. pumilaandM. sylvestriswere involved in the origin of the cultivated a