A novel strategy for the identification of 73 Prunus domestica cultivars using random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) markers

Despite the usefulness of DNA marker techniques, various DNA markers have not been widely applied for practical cultivar identification. We developed a novel strategy based on DNA molecular fingerprints from the genotyped plant individuals, following which a cultivar identification diagram (CID) was manually generated and used as referable information for quick plant and/or seed sample identification. Based on this, we used random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) markers to identify a total of 73 plum cultivars of different origins. The cultivars could be clearly separated by the fingerprints of 9 RAPD primers. Experimental verification also indicated that the CID generated is referable and workable in the identification of any two or more plum cultivars studied, which remains the main advantage of this CID constructed manually over the phylogenetic trees from cluster analysis used in most reports on plant identification using DNA markers. Furthermore, fewer primers can be used to distinguish all cultivars using this approach. This new strategy developed and employed in plum cultivar identification may be applied in the plum industry to identify and separate plant and seed samples using DNA makers.   Key words: Plum, Cultivar identification diagram, random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) markers.