RAPD ANALYSIS OF GENETIC VARIATION IN NATURAL POPULATIONS OF AEGILOPS SP. FROM SOUTH ADRIATIC

Abstract

New challenges that food production is facing, requires novel approach inagricultural strategy. The scissors of growing demand for food and the limits of theEarth's resources are forcing plant breeders to run for the new borders, utilizing allthe available genetic variation in order to create fruitful and economically soundcultivars. Aegilops sp. (Poaceae) is a potential source of genetic variation for wheatimprovement. RAPD marker analysis was used in order to distinguish and evaluatedifferent genotypes of Aegilops sp. population samples from the collectiongathered during few years’ expeditions in South Adriatic, along the coastal, littoraland the inland parts of Montenegro. Ten randomly amplified polymorphic DNAmarkers (RAPDs) were tested: OPA-05, OPA-08, OPB-06, OPA-02, OPA-07,OPA-25, OPB-07, OPB-18, OPC-06, OPC-10 to examine genetic structuring on 18samples of 6 populations of different Aegilops sp. According to global AMOVA,75% of total gene diversity was attributable mostly to diversity within population(ΦPT =0.205 p=0.001), indicating that the groups of studied goat grass populationswere seemingly to differing genetically. In contrast, 25% of the variation camefrom variation among populations. According to PCoA, the distribution of 18 goatgrass accessions by Principal Coordinate Analysis shows 3 distinct groups. PCoaxis 1, PCo axis 2, and PCo axis 3 account for 20.8%, 18.2% and 14.1% of thevariation, respectively. The results showed that RAPD markers could be aconvenient tool for investigating genetic variation and for detecting geneticstructuring of populations. Genetic variability formed under natural selection wasentrenched.