The Study on Genetic Variation of Sichuan Major Wheat Cultivars by RAPD Analysis

Genetic variation is the basis for genetic improvement and plant breeding. This study aimed to estimate the genetic variation by RAPD technique among 40 cultivars of wheat, which has been popularized above 6 67×10 4hm 2 per year in Sichuan during last 50 years. The results are as follows: 40 arbitrary primers (10-mers) were used for the PCR amplification of random genomic DNA fragments. Some 58 2% (amount to 32) of the primers could amplify polymorphic bands. Out of 185 amplified bands, 93 (about 50%) are polymorphic. Every primer could amplify 1 to 11 polymorphic bands, with an average of 2 9 bands. The mean GD based on RAPD markers among the 40 cultivars is 0 221, with a range from 0 019 to 0 475. Cluster analysis shows that the studied cultivars could be classified into 5 clusters at the level of GD 0 230. Some arbitrary primers could amplify certain cultivars specially. The 9 1BL/1RS wheat rye translocations has special RAPD banding pattern by the primer OPN14. Based on these results,it is concluded that RAPD markers could be used as the fingerprint to identify the wheat cultivars.