RAPD markers in parentage confirmation of a valuable breeding progeny of European white birch

Abstract

The general applicability of RAPDs (random amplified polymorphic DNAs) as genetic molecular markers for Betulapendula Roth was evaluated. On average 2.5 clear, potentially useful marker bands were generated per primer from the DNA of a randomly selected birch tree using a set of 60 commercial 10-mer primers. The resulting fragments were typically between 200 and 700 base pairs in length. A novel pooled-progeny analysis of parentage was applied for a posteriori confirmation of parents of an old breeding experiment. The method that saves labour in several laboratory steps is regarded as useful for screening possible errors in breeding. The present work dealt with a case in which one parent was known and there were two candidates for the other. The correct parent was independently confirmed using nine different RAPD loci. The validity of the pooled-progeny application was confirmed by conventional segregation analysis. In this connection, segregation of RAPD alleles at additional loci in the B. pendula cross was also studied.