Studies on Genetic Relationships of Tea Cultivars [Camellia Sinensis (L.) O. Kuntze] by RAPD Analysis

Thirty-one cultivars from different regions of China were tested with RAPD markers using 21 arbitrary 10-mer primers selected from 120 Sangon primers. The level of polymorphism of the cultivars was extremely high. Among a total of 188 bands observed, 170(90.43%) bands were polymorphic in the 31 cultivars tested, only 18 did not reveal polymorphism. Genetic distances between the cultivars varied from 0.219 to 0.708. A dendrogram showing genetic relationships between them was constructed by UPGMA. 31 cultivars can be divided into three groups when the linking distance(T2) be 0.24: The first group includes the cultivars from Yunnan, Sichuan, Guizhou and Guangxi (except Anhui Dusha); The second group includes the cultivars from Guangdong(including Xiaoye Wulong); The third group includes other cultivars from Fujian, Zhejiang, Anhui, Jiangxi, Henan and Hunan. The genetic relationships and classification of the cultivars of China were studied based on the level of genetic DNA.