Morphological and isozyme variation in genebank accessionsof Aegilops umbellulata Zhuk., a wild relative of wheat

Morphological variation and genetic variation at 15 enzyme lociwere studied in genebank accessions of Aegilopsumbellulata Zhuk., the diploid genome donor to all thepolyploid species of the section Aegilops ofAegilops. Accessions from the Greek Islands hadshorter spikes with smaller number of spikelets and smaller number ofawns on the empty glume. The number of alleles per locus (A= 2.01) and the proportion of polymorphic loci (P= 0.627) were similar to those of the other species ofAegilops so far reported. Genetic distancescalculated from isozyme variations among five regions revealed thataccessions from the Greek Islands are more distantly related to theother four continental regions, Iran and Iraq, Southeast Turkey,Central Turkey and South and West Turkey. The present resultsindicated the importance of collection covering the whole range ofgeographical distribution to capture the genetic variation present inAe. umbellulata.     

Genetic diversity in grasspea (Lathyrus sativus L.)

Genetic diversity was investigated in 348 accessions and subaccessions of grasspea (Lathyrus sativus L.) from 10 geographical regions. Polymorphism for 20 isozymes of 13 enzyme systems was studied to estimate the genetic diversity. The Near East and North Africa regions included the most variability for these isozyme systems, suggesting that the center of diversity (center of origin) for grasspea is in this general area. The lowest variability was found in accessions and subaccessions from South America, followed by those from Sudan–Ethiopia. Diversity was measured for individual loci over regions and EST-1 and SKDH had the highest genetic diversity. The closest genetic diversity was observed for LAP-2, followed by AAT-1 and PGM. The closest genetic distance existed between populations from the Near East and North Africa. Populations from South Asia and Sudan–Ethiopia, though geographically widely separated, exhibited a closer genetic distance from each other than from other regions.     

Genetic diversity in cucumber (Cucumis sativus L.): I. A reevaluation of the U.S. germplasm collection

Genetic variation within the U.S. cucumber collection (Cucumis sativus var. sativus L. and var. hardwickii (Royle) Alef.) was assessed by examing the variation at 21 polymorphic isozyme loci and comparing the results of this investigation with a similar previous analysis of 14 loci. About 29% (15 of 51) of the enzyme systems examined in an initial survey were polymorphic. Seven loci (Ak-2, Ak-3, Fdp-1, Fdp-2, Mpi-1, Pep-gl and Skdh) which were not previously used to estimate genetic diversity, were assessed. On average, 1.4 loci were polymorphic per enzyme system and 2.2 alleles were present per polymorphic locus. The frequency of polymorphisms was relatively low for Fdp-1(2) (0.01), Mpi-1(1) (0.03), and Skdh(1) (0.02). Principal component and cluster analyses of allelic variation at polymorphic loci separated a diverse array of 757 cucumber accessions from the U.S. National Plant Germplasm Systesm's (NPGS) collection into distinct groups by country (45 nations examined). All accessions of C. s. var. sativus were isozymically distinct from C. s. var. hardwickii, which were themselves dissimilar from each other. Data suggest that C. s. var. hardwickii is not a feral derivative of extant C. s. var. sativus populations. The allelic profile of C. s. var. sativus accessions originating from Burma, Thailand, Indonesia, Hong Kong, Zimbabwe and Ethiopia were distinct from the other accessions examined. Allelic fixation has occurred at Pgd-2 in accessions from Burma, and at Ak-2 in accessions from Zimbabwe and Ethiopia. Some of the countries examined that were in close geographic proximity (e.g., Thailand, Indonesia and Hong Kong) contained accessions with similar isozyme profiles. Accessions are fixed for certain alleles [e.g., Gr(1) (100%), Fdp-1(1) (100%) and Mpi-2(2) (50%) for accessions from Thailand, Indonesia and Hong Kong]. Grouping countries by continent or sub-continent (i.e., North and South American, China, Eastern Europe, Western Europe) and by numbers of accessions examined (i.e., India/Burma, Iran, Japan, Turkey, and remaining accessions) was used to identify accessions with unique allozymic profiles [PIs 209064 (USA), 257486 (China), 188749 (Egypt), 285607 (Poland), 369717 (Yugoslavia), 357844 (Poland), 255936 (Netherlands), 183127 (India), 200818 (Burma), 200815 (Burma), 137836 (Iran), 227013 (Iran), 227235 (Iran), 451976 (Japan), 181752 (Syria), 181874 (Syria), 169383 (Turkey), 171613 (Turkey)].     

Genetic diversity in Ethiopian hexaploid and tetraploid wheat germplasm assessed by microsatellite markers

The genetic diversity of a subset of the Ethiopian genebank collection maintained at the IPK Gatersleben was investigated applying 22 wheat microsatellites (WMS). The material consisted of 135 accessions belonging to the species T. aestivum L. (69 accessions), T. aethiopicum Jacubz. (54 accessions) and T. durum Desf. (12 accessions), obtained from different collection missions. In total 286 alleles were detected, ranging from 4 to 26 per WMS. For the three species T. aestivum, T. aethiopicum and T. durum on average 9.9, 7.9 and 7.9 alleles per locus, respectively, were observed. The average PIC values per locus were highly comparable for the three species analysed. Considering the genomes it was shown that the largest numbers of alleles per locus occurred in the B genome (18.4 alleles per locus) compared to A (10.1 alleles per locus) and D (8.2 alleles per locus) genomes. Genetic dissimilarity values between accessions were used to produce a dendrogram. All accessions could be distinguished, clustering in two large groups. Whereas T. aestivum formed a separate cluster, no clear discrimination between the two tetraploid species T. durum and T. aethiopicum was observed.     

Genetic resources of Centrosema spp.: genetic changes associated to the handling of an active collection

Summary The potentials of the species of Centrosema as pasture and fodder crops in Tropical and Subtropical areas have promoted their germplasm collection and evaluation in Brazil and other countries of Central and South America. The species C. acutifolium, C. pubescens and C. brasilianum are of particular interest. Samples of the same accessions form wild materials collected in Brazil have been agronomically evaluated in Brazil and Colombia, and handled as self-pollinating species. Pairs of samples (one from Brazil and the other from Colombia) of four accessions have been genetically analyzed using isozyme markers at 16 loci. A noticeable genetic differentiation has occurred between members of each pair in few generations. Experimental evidences indicate that frequency of outcrossing are relatively high in these species. It is proposed that outcrossing between non-isolated neighboring accessions and genetic drift in small size plantings are the causes of the genetic differentiation between Brazilian and Colombian samples. Guides to evaluate and multiply Centrosema germplasm are suggested.     

Evaluation of cultivated and wild barley for resistance to pathotypes ofPuccinia hordei with wide virulence

An isolate ofPuccinia hordei (ND89-3) originally collected in Morocco is virulent on most barley genotypes reported to possess resistance, except cultivar Estate (CI 3410), which possesses theRph3 gene and exhibits a low to intermediate level of resistance (infection type 12). Isolate ND89-3 possesses one of the widest virulence spectrums reported forP. hordei. Accessions ofHordeum vulgare (1,997 in total) andH. spontaneum (885 in total), mostly originating from the Mediterranean region and parts of North Africa, were evaluated with isolate ND89-3 at the seedling stage to identify new sources of leaf rust resistance. Fifty-eight accessions ofH. vulgare, and 222 accessions ofH. spontaneum exhibited low infection types to this isolate. Further evaluations of these resistant accessions with isolates ofP. hordei virulent forRph3,Rph7, andRph12 suggested that most of the resistantH. vulgare accessions possess theRph3 gene. Data suggested additional sources of effective resistance inH. vulgare are rather limited. FiveH. vulgare accessions and 167H. spontaneum accessions were identified as possible sources of new genes for leaf rust resistance. These accessions likely possess resistance genes that are different fromRph1 toRph12, or gene combinations thereof based on their reaction to four leaf rust isolates. Utilization of these accessions in barley breeding will broaden the germplasm resources available for genetic control ofP. hordei. North Dakota Agricultural Experiment Station Journal Series No. 2123. The U.S. Government right to retain a non-exclusive, royalty free licence in and to any copyright is acknowledged.     

Genetic characterization of a collection of chayote, <Emphasis Type="Italic">Sechium edule</Emphasis> (Jacq.) Swartz,in Costa Rica by using isozyme markers

We established protocols for the analysis of genetic diversity in chayote (Sechium edule) by using isozyme markers, thereby determining the level of genetic diversity present in 42 accessions of chayote from Costa Rica. We obtained clear and reproducible zymograms for eight enzyme staining systems: PGM, 6-PGD, PGI, IDH, MDH, SOD, SKD, and EST, and were able to score 14 putative loci. Eight of the 14 loci examined were polymorphic. We found 35 distinct multilocus genotypes among these accessions. Five of these multilocus genotypes were homozygous for all loci. In addition, our data also revealed that most of the multilocus genotypes (24) were heterozygous for only one of the eight loci, and the rest were heterozygous for two or three loci (9 and 4 accessions, respectively). Seven multilocus genotypes were found in two different accessions. Dice similarity coefficient was used to study the relationship between accessions. This analysis, based on the presence and absence of alleles, revealed that accessions collected in the same location seldom shared the same multilocus genotype. The value of isozyme polymorphisms as tools to continue studies on the characterization of chayote is discussed.     

Analysis of Genetic Diversity in the Brassica napus L. Gene Pool Using SSR Markers

Genetic diversity throughout the rapeseed (Brassica napus ssp. napus) primary gene pool was examined by obtaining detailed molecular genetic information at simple sequence repeat (SSR) loci for a broad range of winter and spring oilseed, fodder and leaf rape gene bank accessions. The plant material investigated was selected from a preliminary B. napus core collection developed from European gene bank material, and was intended to cover as broadly as possible the diversity present in the species, excluding swedes (B. napus ssp. napobrassica (L.) Hanelt). A set of 96 genotypes was characterised using publicly available mapped SSR markers spread over the B. napus genome. Allelic information from 30 SSR primer combinations amplifying 220 alleles at 51 polymorphic loci provided unique genetic fingerprints for all genotypes. UPGMA clustering enabled identification of four general groups with increasing genetic diversity as follows (1) spring oilseed and fodder; (2) winter oilseed; (3) winter fodder; (4) vegetable genotypes. The most extreme allelic variation was observed in a spring kale from the United Kingdom and a Japanese spring vegetable genotype, and two winter rape accessions from Korea and Japan, respectively. Unexpectedly the next most distinct genotypes were two old winter oilseed varieties from Germany and Ukraine, respectively. A number of other accessions were also found to be genetically distinct from the other material of the same type. The molecular genetic information gained enables the identification of untapped genetic variability for rapeseed breeding and is potentially interesting with respect to increasing heterosis in oilseed rape hybrids.     

Isozyme polymorphism provides fingerprints for germplasm ofArachis glabrata Bentham

Arachis glabrata Bentham, a wild, perennial relative of the cultivated peanut, has been under development as a forage plant for the subtropics and tropics since the early 1960s. To complement the limited genetic resources available in those years, a significant germplasm collection has been assembled in recent years. But little is known about the genetic diversity in this species because research has focused mainly on agronomy. This study aimed to investigate the utility of isozymes for characterisingA. glabrata germplasm. Polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (PAGE) was applied to rhizome-tip tissue. Isozyme characterisation by PAGE showed a high degree of intraspecific polymorphism for the isozymes α-EST, ACP, GOT, and DIA. When analysed together, the four isozyme systems could clearly distinguish all 15 accessions ofA. glabrata held in the germplasm collection at CIAT. Although several accessions originated from the same region, similarity in isozyme patterns was not correlated with geographic origin. Examining rhizome-tip tissue is useful inA. glabrata, a species which produces few seeds.     

Resistance to wheat leaf rust in Aegilops tauschii Coss. and inheritance of resistance in hexaploid wheat

A collection of 164 Aegilops tauschii accessions, obtained from Gatersleben, Germany, was screened for reaction to leaf rust under controlled greenhouse conditions. We have also evaluated a selection of synthetic hexaploid wheats, produced by hybridizing Ae. tauschii with tetraploid durum wheats, as well as the first and second generation of hybrids between some of these resistant synthetic hexaploid wheats and susceptible Triticum aestivum cultivars. Eighteen (11%) accessions of Ae. tauschii were resistant to leaf rust among which 1 was immune, 13 were highly resistant and 4 were moderately resistant. Six of the synthetic hexaploid wheats expressed a high level of leaf rust resistance while four exhibited either a reduced or complete susceptibility compared to their corresponding diploid parent. This suppression of resistance at the hexaploid level suggests the presence of suppressor genes in the A and/or B genomes of the T. turgidum parent. Inheritance of leaf rust resistance from the intercrosses with susceptible bread wheats revealed that resistance was dominant over susceptibility. Leaf rust resistance from the three synthetics (syn 101, syn 701 and syn 901) was effectively transmitted as a single dominant gene and one synthetic (syn 301) possessed two different dominant genes for resistance.     

Evaluation of genetic diversity and relationships within an on-farm collection of Perilla frutescens (L.) Britt. using microsatellite markers

The present study demonstrates utilization of 11 microsatellite markers to explore genetic diversity held in Perilla frutescens (L.) Britt. landrace accessions growing on farms in different parts of Korea and Japan and to assess their genetic relationships. All microsatellite loci were polymorphic and produced a total of 96 alleles ranging from 4 to 20, with an average of 8.7 alleles per locus. Of the 96 alleles found, a total of 15 unique landrace-specific alleles were observed at 9 different loci. The locus GBPFM203 provided the highest number of alleles (20), of which five were unique and each specific to a particular landrace accession. The occurrence of unique, accession-specific alleles presented molecular evidence for the generation of new alleles within on-farm collection of Perilla. The mean values of observed (H _O) and expected heterozygosity (H _E) were 0.39 and 0.68, respectively, indicating a considerable amount of polymorphism within this collection. A genetic distance-based phylogeny grouped the two Perilla varieties, var. frutescens and var. crispa (Thunb.) Decne into two distinct groups. Accessions belonging to var. frutescens could also be divided into two subgroups at a close genetic distance (GD = 0.432). The overall clustering pattern did not strictly follow the grouping of accessions according to their geographic origins. These observations are indicative of extensive germplasm exchange among farms from different geographical regions. The genetic similarity observed among the Perilla landraces may be useful for future Perilla crop variety identification, conservation, and improvement programs.     

Intra-specific DNA polymorphism in pineapple (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Ananas comosus</Emphasis> (L.) Merr.) assessed by AFLP markers

Pineapple (Ananas comosus (L.) Merr.) cultivars, often derived from somatic mutations, are propagated vegetatively. It has been suggested by isozyme data that there is little genetic variation among Smooth Cayenne cultivars. A thorough investigation of the genetic variation within the cultivated speciesAnanas comosus, particularly among commercial cultivars, will provide critical information needed for crop improvement and cultivar protection. One-hundred and forty-eight accessions ofA. comosus and 14 accessions of related species were evaluated with AFLP markers. The average genetic similarity ofA. comosus was 0.735 ranging from 0.549 to 0.972, suggesting a high degree of genetic variation within this species. With AFLP markers, discrete DNA fingerprints were detected for each commercial cultivar, breeding line, and intra-specific hybrid. Self-incompatibility, high levels of somatic mutation, and intraspecific hybridization may account for this high degree of variation. However, major cultivar groups of pineapple, such as Cayenne, Spanish, and Queen, could not be distinctively separated. These cultivar groups are based on morphological similarity, and the similar appearance can be caused by a few mutations that occurred on different genetic background. Our results suggest that there is abundant genetic variation within existing pineapple germplasm for selection, and discrete DNA fingerprinting patterns for commercial cultivars can be detected for cultivar protection. The genetic diversity and relationships of fourAnanas species are also discussed.     

Genetic diversity and intra-specific phylogeny of Triticum turgidum L. subsp. dicoccon (Schrank) Thell. revealed by RFLPs and SSRs

Today, emmer wheat, T. turgidum subsp. dicoccon, widely grown in the past is a candidate crop for sustainable agriculture in Italy. As part of a research project aimed at the enhanced use of the hulled wheat germplasm, molecular characterization was carried out to understand the genetic structure of the crop and to identify accessions of interest. A collection of 194 accessions was analyzed with 15 microsatellite loci (SSRs), while only a sample of 38 accessions was tested with 19 RFLP probes. The marker loci were selected on the basis of their independent genomic distribution. Genetic distances and allelic frequencies were calculated for each marker class. The genetic relationships were visualized with dendrograms. RFLP loci were, on average, less polymorphic than SSRs. An average Dice's genetic distance of 0.22 for RFLPs vs 0.38 for SSRs was detected, while an expected average heterozygosity per locus of 0.23 for RFLPs vs 0.26 for SSRs was also estimated. With a least number of 10 loci per marker class it was possible to identify each genotype. The most diverse accessions had different geographic origins. Germplasms from Italy and Ethiopia appear to belong to a more primitive genepool, given that a group of accessions from these countries were genetically differentiated from a Russian-Iranian group.     

Conservation of the genetic variation of Triticum tauschii (Coss.) Schmalh. (Aegilops squarrosa auct. non L.) in synthetic hexaploid wheats (T. turgidum L. s.lat. x T. tauschii; 2n=6x=42, AABBDD) and its potential utilization for wheat improvement

Triticum tauschii (Coss.) Schmalh. (Aegilops squarrosa auct. non L., 2n=2x=14, DD genome) with its diverse range of accessions and distribution provides a unique opportunity for exploiting novel genetic variability for wheat (T. aestivum L.) improvement associated with biotic/abiotic stress factors. From our working collection of 490 T. tauschii accessions we have so far produced 430 different synthetic hexaploids (2n=6x=42, AABBDD) resulting from the chromosome doubling of Triticum turgidum L. s. lat. x T. tauschii F₁ hybrids (each synthetic involving a different T. tauschii accession). We present here our results on hybrid production, plantlet regeneration, cytology, colchicine induced doubling of the 2n=3x=21 chromosome F1 hybrids, seed increase of the doubled progeny and screening for a biotic stress; Cochliobolus sativus Ito and Kuribay (syn. Helminthosporium sativum Pamm. King and Bakke); of 250 of these synthetic hexaploid (2n=6x=42) amphiploids. Application of the direct crossing methodology involving susceptible T. aestivum cultivars with resistant T. tauschii accessions is also alluded to.     

Genetic Variation Among Portuguese Landraces of ‘Arrancada’ Wheat and <Emphasis Type="Italic">Triticum petropavlovskyi</Emphasis> by AFLP-based Assessment

Portuguese wheat landraces, ‘Arrancada’ were collected from the Aveiro region, Portugal before the 1950s. We found in eight accessions of `Arrancada' hexaploid wheat with the long glume phenotype. We assessed the comparative genetic diversity among Portuguese `Arrancada' wheat and Triticum petropavlovskyi Udacz. et Migusch. using AFLP assays and discuss the origin of long glumed `Arrancada' wheat. With the four primer pairs a total of 4885 visible bands were scored corresponding to 99 AFLP markers as putative loci, of which 55 markers (54%) were polymorphic. UPGMA clustering and PCO grouping showed that long glumed ‘Arrancada’ wheat and T. petropavlovskyi were genetically diverse. Long glumed ‘Arrancada’ hexaploid wheat separated into two clusters (groups) in both the UPGMA dendrogram and in PCO analysis. Four long glumed accessions fell in the cluster of tetraploid wheat. A similar argument could be made for another four accessions which belong to the cluster of hexaploid wheat. The substantial level of genetic variation indicated that long glumed ‘Arrancada’ wheat and T. petropavlovskyi originated independently. It is most likely that the P-gene of long glumed ‘Arrancada’ hexaploid wheat was introduced from T. turgidum ssp. polonicum (L.) Thell. to T. aestivum via natural introgression or breeding. We suggest that the long glumed ‘Arrancada’ hexaploid wheat did not originate from T. aestivum through spontaneous mutation at the P locus     

Genetic diversity in European accessions of the Barley Core Collection as detected by isozyme electrophoresis

Genetic diversity in 79 European accessions of the Barley Core Collections was surveyed using isozyme electrophoresis. A total of 26 alleles were observed at the ten isozyme loci. All loci were polymorphic except Pgd-1 which was monomorphic. The comparison of the results with those of previous studies indicates that most of the alleles occurring in the European Barley are also observed in this set of the European Barley Core Collections. Only five alleles (Est-1 Al; Est-5 Ag, Te; Pgi-1 C and Ndh-2 B) were absent. Nine of 26 alleles were rare alleles, which were detected only in one or two accessions. Moreover, most of rare alleles were detected in 6-rowed winter barley. It is very important to include rare alleles for maximising the genetic variations in core collections. In the set of European Barley Core Collection, 6-rowed barley contained larger diversity than 2-rowed barley; winter type contained larger diversity than spring type. The cluster analysis separated 79 accessions into three major groups. Group I is more complex and comprised 2-rowed spring, 2-rowed winter and 6-rowed winter barley. In this group, 18 accessions in the cluster A and 14 accessions in the cluster B possessed identical genotypes as judged from the ten isozyme data. Principal coordinate analysis could not clearly separate the spring cultivars from the winter barley lines, as well as not separate 2-rowed from 6-rowed barley.     

Genetic identity and relationships of Iranian apple (Malus?×?domestica Borkh.) cultivars and landraces, wild Malus species and representative old apple cultivars based on simple sequence repeat (SSR) marker analysis

In order to shed light on the role of Iran in apple evolution and domestication, we chose to investigate the relationships of a collection of 159 accessions of wild and domesticated apples including Iranian indigenous apple cultivars and landraces, selected wild species, and old apple scion and rootstock cultivars from different parts of the world. The majority of the wild species belonged to M. sieversii, which is widely believed to be the main maternal wild ancestor of domestic apples, from Kazakhstan and M. orientalis, which is one of the probable minor ancestors of domestic apples, from Turkey and Russia located on the east and west of Iran, respectively. The accessions were assigned into six arbitrary populations for the purpose of generating information on genetic parameters. Nine simple sequence repeat (SSR) loci selected from previous studies in apple were screened over DNA extracted from all the accessions. Results showed that all SSR loci displayed a very high degree of polymorphism with 11–25 alleles per locus. In total, there were 153 alleles across all loci with an average of 17 alleles per locus. The SSR allelic data were then used for estimation of population genetic parameters, including genetic variation statistics, F-statistics, gene flow, genetic identity, genetic distance and then cluster analysis using POPGENE 1.32 software. The F-statistics and gene flow in particular, showed that there was more intra-population than between population variation. The genetic identity and genetic distance estimates, and the dendrogram generated from the un-weighted pair group arithmetic average (UPGMA) method of cluster analysis showed that the Iranian cultivars and landraces were more closely related to M. sieversii from Central Asia (east of Iran) and M. orientalis native to Turkey and Russia than to other accessions of Malus species. Also, the old apple cultivars from different parts of the world have a closer genetic relationship to M. sieversii, M. orientalis and the Iranian apples, than to other wild species. Based on these results, we suggest that the Iranian apples may occupy an intermediate position between the domesticated varieties and wild species. We propose that Iran could be one of the major players in apples’ domestication and transfer from Central Asia to the western countries.     

A wide range of genetic diversity in pear (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Pyrus ussuriensis</Emphasis> var. <Emphasis Type="Italic">aromatica</Emphasis>) genetic resources from Iwate,Japan revealed by SSR and chloroplast DNA markers

Iwateyamanashi (Pyrus ussuriensis var. aromatica) is one of the Pyrus species which grows wild in Japan. The number of Iwateyamanashi trees has been decreasing, so conservation and evaluation is urgently needed. Over 500 accessions of Pyrus species collected from Iwate in northern Tohoku region are maintained at Kobe University as an Iwateyamanashi germplasm collection. In order to investigate the genetic diversity, five SSR (simple sequence repeat) markers, developed from Japanese and European pear were examined for 86 Pyrus individuals including 58 accessions from Iwate. These SSR loci could discriminate between all the Iwate accessions except for 10 that bear seedless fruit, as well as determine the genetic diversity in Iwateyamanashi germplasms. High levels of variation were detected in 41 alleles and the mean observed heterozygosity across 5 loci was 0.50 for the Iwate accessions. Seedless accessions sharing identical SSR genotype with the local pear variety “Iwatetanenashi” were supposed to have been propagated vegetatively via grafting. In an UPGMA phenogram, Japanese pear varieties (P. pyrifolia) were clustered into two groups with some Iwate accessions including seedless ones. Another 38 Iwate accessions were not clustered clearly, and there was no clear relationship between these accessions and geographical distribution or morphological characters. Allele frequency revealed that the Iwate accessions were genetically more divergent than the Japanese pear varieties. Most Japanese pears possessed a 219 bp deletion at a spacer region between the accD and psaI genes in the chloroplast DNA (cpDNA), but other Pyrus species and two Iwateyamanashi trees did not. In the Iwate accessions, 79.3% had a deletion type cpDNA and others had a standard type cpDNA without deletion. These results are indicative of the wide range of genetic diversity in the Iwate accessions which include Japanese pear varieties. A combination of SSR and cpDNA analyses revealed high heterogeneity in Iwateyamanashi and coexistence of Iwateyamanashi and hybrid progeny with P. pyrifolia. These could be reasons for the wide range of continuous morphological variation described previously.     

Variation and phylogeny of the triploid cultivated potatoSolanum chaucha Juz. et Buk. based on RAPD and isozyme markers

Ninety four accessions of the cultivated triploid potatoS. chaucha were analyzed and classified in genotypic groups using 9 isozyme loci and RAPD markers disclosed by 20 arbitrary 10-mer primers. Eight isozyme loci out of nine were polymorphic. A total of 22 allozymes were analyzed but none of them were specific for any genotypic group. About half (52%) of the 102 RAPD markers scored, were polymorphic, all of them showing polymorphism among groups and rarely within groups. Eighteen RAPD markers were specific for certain genotypes. The isozyme markers showed a certain amount of intra group variation which made classification less reliable than with RAPD markers. A total of 10 triploid genetic groups were discriminated using both techniques together. A single primer was found to be sufficient to distinguish all 10 groups. All varieties of a single group are considered to have been derived from the same cross and then clonally propagated, even though there is a high amount of morphological variation within a single genotypic group due probably to somatic mutations. RAPD markers have been shown to be more reliable in the classification of triploid potato varieties than other genetic markers like isozymes, proteins and morphological traits.     

Molecular diversity of Omani wheat revealed by microsatellites: II. Hexaploid landraces

For millennia, wheat (Triticum spp.) has been grown in traditional aflaj-irrigation systems of remote mountain oases in Oman. However, little is known about the diversity of the ancient landraces used. Given recent reports about the occurrence of novel germplasm in such material, the objective of this study was to evaluate the genetic diversity of hexaploid wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) landraces in relation to their geographic origin using microsatellites. The collection covered most of the cultivation areas in northern Oman where wheat landraces are growing. Total genomic DNA was extracted from six pooled plants representing each accession. A total of 161 wheat accessions were assayed using 35 microsatellite loci in which a total of 305 polymorphic bands were recorded for the 35 microsatellites. The polymorphic information content (PIC) across the 35 microsatellite loci ranged from 0.02 to 0.89 with an average of 0.50. A heterozygosity percentage value of 9.09 was determined and the highest level recorded for accessions from the Batinah district. Rare alleles averaged 1.85 with the highest value being from the Dakhilia district. The results indicated a significant correlation between gene diversity and number of alleles across districts. The correlation coefficient between these two variables over the 35 loci was 0.657, whereby correlation coefficients of 0.718, 0.706, 0.657 and 0.651, respectively, were found for the Batinah, Dhahira, Dakhilia and Sharqia materials. Genetic distances indicated that all landraces were closely related. The cluster analysis discriminated most of the landraces accessions. However, it failed to achieve region-specific groupings of landraces. The present study demonstrated the presence of high diversity in Omani landraces and also indicated the effectiveness of microsatellites to describe it.