Assessing the genetic similarity of F-1 strawberry plants (Fragaria x ananassa Duch.) using RAPD markers

Abstract

To determine the degree of genetic similarity between F-1 hybrids and the parents with Randomly Amplified Polymorphic DNA (RAPD) markers, 19 primers were selected from a total of 91 primers based on polymorphism. The polymorphism information content values of the 19 selected primers were substantially low ranging from 0.19 to 0.38, confirming that their genetic diversity was relatively low. The index of genetic similarity between the F-1 hybrid and the parents ranged from 0.55 to 0.84. The F-1 hybrid was genetically more similar to the pollen parent. Testing the degree of similarity among F-1 hybrid and parent individuals identified four distinct groups: F-1 hybrid, ovary parents, pollen parents, and control cultivar. All F-1 hybrid individuals (n= 20) were observed to be genetically identical, and so were the parents. Moreover, because the degree of genetic similarity among F-1 hybrid and parent individuals were significantly high, the F-1 hybrid and the parent plants appeared to be all genetically identical, similar to the results observed in the RAPD marker test.