Monitoring of Cultivars Identity and Genetic Stability in Strawberry Varieties Grown in Egypt

A simple and routine method for the analysis of tissue culture-derived strawberry plants for somaclonal variations is a prerquist for pricise monitring of quality control during rapid mass micropropgation. Similarly, molecular identification of different varieties is an important element for efficient and effective management of strawberry genetic resources. This study reports on the use of RAPD-PCR for identification of different cultivars of strawberry and detection of genetic variations in micropropagated strawberry plants. Seven varieties of the cultivated strawberry, grown in Egypt, were screened using RAPD-DNA markers. Only four RAPD primers (among 20 tested) were chosen as producing polymorphic DNA bands differentiating the investigated cultivars. Based on those identity markers, the genetic distances between varieties were determined and their genetic relationships were estimated. The phylogenetic tree revealed that the seven studied cultivars showed close similarity within the group. Although minor morphological variations were recorded in the leaves of some clones, the developed RAPD profiles of different micropropagated clones were typical to that of the donor mother plant.