The assessment of the genetic diversity of sea buckthorn populations from Romania using RAPD markers

Ten populations of Hippophae rhamnoides subsp. carpatica were evaluated for genetic diversity using RAPD technique. Twelve decameric primers, selected for their ability to produce clear, scorable amplicons generated 208 bands. 84.17% of them were polymorphic showing the high degree of genetic variation among sea buckthorn populations. The similarity coefficient ranged from 0.15 to 0.86 with a mean of. 0.60. UPGMA dendrogram based on genetic distance grouped the populations in two main clusters: one with only two spontaneous populations and the second including both spontaneous and cultivated ones. Cluster analysis reflected a relative closer relationship between populations grown at the same altitude and the fact that Romanian commercial varieties are mainly the result of the selection from natural population rather than a process of coherent breeding program.