Jaccard's Genetic Distance Research Articles

Characterization and Follow-Up of Trypanosoma cruzi Natural Populations Refractory to Etiological Chemotherapy in Oral Chagas Disease Patients.

We aimed to characterize the genetic constitution of natural T. cruzi populations involved in an Oral Chagas Disease (OCD) outbreak at a rural school of the community of Chichiriviche de la Costa, Venezuela, which affected patients did not respond to the etiological treatment. Peripheral blood samples and/or hemocultures were obtained from twenty-nine OCD patients at time of diagnosis or along nine years of Post-treatment (Tx) follow-up. The IgG serology, T. cruzi discrete typing units (DTU), satellite DNA-qPCR parasitic loads, and minicircle signatures were determined at Pre-Tx and after Tx. The serological titles and parasitic loads changed after treatment, with a significant decrease of IgG titers (Spearman’s r value= -0.961) and median parasite loads from 2.869 [IQR = 2.113 to 3.720] to 0.105 [IQR = -1.147 to 1.761] log10 par eq. /mL at Pre-Tx and Post-Tx, respectively, suggesting infection evolution from acute to chronic phase, without seroconversion or parasitological eradication, which was indicative of treatment failure. All patients were infected with T. cruzi DTU I populations. At Pre-Tx their median Jaccard genetic distances were 0.775 [IQR = 0.708 to 0.882], decreasing in genetic variability towards the end of follow-up (Mann-Whitney U test p= 0.0031). Interestingly, no Post-Tx minicircle signature was identical to its Pre-Tx counterpart population in a same patient, revealing selection of parasite subpopulations between the primary infection and Post-Tx. The parasitic populations isolated from hemocultures showed a lower number of bands in the minicircle signatures with respect to the signatures obtained directly from the patients’ blood samples, demonstrating a process of parasitic selection and reduction of the population variability that initially infected the patients. Decrease of parasitic loads after treatment as well as Pre- and Post-Tx intra-TcI diversity might be a consequence of both, natural evolution of the acute infection to the chronic phase and persistence of refractory populations due to Tx selection.

Genetic diversity, population structure and AFLP markers associated with maize reaction to southern rust

ABSTRACT Maize is one of the species with greater genetic diversity among cereals and possibly the most diverse crop species known. Accessing this variability is essential for maize breeding, allowing breeders to achieve progress of yield increasing, overcome environmental challenges or deal with pests and diseases. Among the maize diseases, southern rust is one of the most important, causing significant losses in yield and presenting severe epidemics worldwide. In the present study, the AFLP technique was applied to analyze population structure and genetic diversity among 145 tropical maize inbred lines, and to test for preliminary evidence of association between AFLP markers and the reaction to southern rust. Disease severity was evaluated in two crop seasons and the accessions were genotyped through AFLP using four primer combinations. The clusters obtained based on the Jaccard genetic distance and Ward’s hierarchical clustering and those achieved by structure simulations had high concordance and were capable of establish two big clusters, one predominantly of common maize and another of popcorn. The association analysis was performed using four different statistical models. The more complete model containing both population structure and genetic relatedness narrowed the number of significant associations, demonstrating its importance to control false associations. A total of 19 significant marker associations were identified from which three (EactMctg18, EactMctg205, EactMctg169) are interesting candidates for further investigations.

Evaluation of in vitro shoot multiplication and ISSR marker based assessment of somaclonal variants at different subcultures of vanilla (Vanilla planifolia Jacks).

The effect of subculture cycles on somaclonal variation of V. planifolia using intersimple sequence repeat (ISSR) markers was analyzed. Nodal segments of 2cm in length were established in vitro and multiplied by 10 subculture cycles in Murashige and Skoog (MS) medium supplemented with 8.86μM BAP (benzylaminopurine). After 45days in each culture, the length and number of shoots per explant were evaluated. For ISSR markers, ten shoots per each subculture and the mother plant were used. Ten ISSR primers were used and a total of 118 bands were obtained. The polymorphism (%) was calculated and a dendrogram based on Jaccard's genetic distance between the subcultures and the donor plant was obtained. These results show that the multiplication rate tends to increase until subculture five, whereas shoot length decreases as the number of subcultures increases. The ISSR markers revealed an increase in the polymorphism percentage after the fifth culture cycle. The dendrogram showed the formation of two groups. The first group, with less genetic variability, is the donor plant and subcultures 1-5; the second group has greater genetic distance and is formed by subcultures 6-10. The results revealed that the number of subcultures with 8.86μM BAP is a factor that affects the somaclonal variation during in vitro regeneration of V. planifolia. In conclusion, the subculture number affects somaclonal variation and in vitro development of V. planifolia.

Elit Domuz Ayrığı (Dactylis glomerata L.) Genotiplerinde Genetik Çeşitliliğin SSR Markörleri ile Belirlenmesi

Domuz ayrığı (Dactylis glomerata L.) yaygın olarak yetiştiriciliği yapılan, ekonomik açıdan önemli çok yıllık bir buğdaygil yem bitkisidir. Bu araştırma, Ege Tarımsal Araştırma Enstitüsü yem bitkileri ıslah programı kapsamında geliştirilen elit domuz ayrığı klonlarının akrabalık derecelerini ve genetik çeşitliliğini belirlemek amacıyla yürütülmüştür. Çalışmada 32 genotip ve 24 SSR primeri kullanılmıştır. Moleküler analiz sonucunda SSR primerleri toplamda 126 allel üretmiştir. Allel sayısı 3 ila 7 arasında değişmiş ve lokus başına düşen ortalama allel sayısı 5,25 olarak bulunmuştur. Elde edilen allel büyüklükleri ise 101 bp ile 354 bp arasında değişmiş ve polimorfizm oranı her primer için %100 olarak gerçekleşmiştir. Bireyler arasında uzaklık derecesi Jaccard genetik uzaklık katsayısı kullanılarak elde edilmiş ve 0,21 ile 0,84 arasında değişmiş ve genetik çeşitlilik seviyesi yüksek bulunmuştur. Genotiplerden elde edilen 126 allelin 28‘nin nadir alleller olduğu ortaya çıkmıştır. Jaccard genetik uzaklık katsayısı kullanılarak yapılan neighbor-joining analizi sonucunda oluşturulan dendrogram 3 ana gruba ayrılmıştır. A grubu en büyük grubu oluşturmuş ve bünyesinde 15 genotip barındırmıştır. B grubu orijini aynı bölge olan 13 genotiple ikinci büyük grubu oluşturmuştur. C grubu ise en küçük grup olup orijini Türkiye‘nin kuzeyi olan genotipleri barındırmıştır. Moleküler analizler domuz ayrığı genotiplerinin önemli derecede genetik varyasyon taşıdığı ve ıslah programı için değerli kaynaklar olduğu ortaya çıkmıştır. Bunlara ek olarak, SSR tekniğinin domuz ayrığı genotiplerini moleküler olarak tanımlamada oldukça uygun ve etkili bir teknik olduğu sonucuna varılmıştır.

Genetic differentiation among selected tepary bean collections revealed by morphological traits and simple sequence repeat markers

ABSTRACTUnderstanding the genetic relationship of crop ideotypes is essential for genetic analysis and breeding. The objective of this study was to determine genetic differentiation present among 20 selected tepary bean (Phaseolus acutifolius A. Gray) genotypes using morphological traits and simple sequence repeat (SSR) markers in order to identify genetically unique parental lines to develop breeding populations. Phenotypic diversity was estimated using Shannon-Weaver diversity index (H’), principal component analysis (PCA) and cluster analysis (CA). Genotypic diversity was estimated using Jaccard's genetic distances and CA. Shannon-Weaver diversity index values for the studied morphological traits ranged from 0.89 to 0.99, with a mean of 0.95 revealing high phenotypic differences among test genotypes. PCA identified four useful principal components (PC's) which contributed to 73% of the total phenotypic variation of collections. PC1 accounted for 28% of the total variation correlated to dry shoot mass and number of pods per plant. PC2 correlated with number of seeds per pod, grain yield and harvest index and contributed to 21% of total variation. The mean observed (Ho) and expected (He) heterozygosity values were 0.45 and 0.51, respectively revealing moderate genetic differentiation among genotypes. The mean polymorphic information content was 0.52, suggesting efficient discriminatory power of the SSR loci useful in future tepary bean genetic diversity analysis. The current study revealed moderate genetic differentiation among the studied tepary bean genotypes. Morphological traits and SSR markers well-correlated in allocating the tepary bean genotypes. The following genotypes were genetically distinct: G40201, G40237, G40068, G40033 and G40063 which are recommended for further crosses, selection and population development.

Comprehensive characterization of cultivated in vitro Deschampsia antarctica E. Desv. plants with different chromosome numbers

D. antarctica E. Desv. plants cultivated in vitro were analyzed for the chromosome number, leaf length, and efficiency of callus formation. Most of the studied plants had a typical diploid chromosome number. However, a hypotriploid and a plant with B chromosomes demonstrated mixoploidy caused by the presence of a significant proportion (up to 15–25%) of aneuploid cells. Jaccard genetic distances between the plants determined from the data of ISSR- and IRAP-PCR analyses were within the range of 0.0323 to 0.1803. Furthermore, genetic distances between the specimens with atypical karyotype and diploids did not exceed the paired distances within the group of diploid plants. Variations in the leaf length and growth parameters of the plants were characterized. Plants with different chromosome numbers differed in the leaf length and efficiency of callus formation. Obtained results may indicate relationships between the chromosome number, studied morphometric parameters, and efficiency of callus formation in the analyzed D. antarctica plants.

Developing a core collection of Pyropia haitanensis using simple sequence repeat markers

Pyropia haitanensis is one of the most economically important mariculture crops of southern China. Core collection construction is important for the study, management and utilization of germplasm resources of P. haitanensis. In this study, methods for the construction of a core collection of P. haitanensis based on SSR marker data were developed and a core collection was created. Using 126 SSR alleles of 77 strains of P. haitanensis, 30 core subsets were constructed by stepwise clustering using two sampling strategies (random sampling and preferred sampling), three genetic distances (Nei & Li genetic distance (ND), simple matching genetic distance (SM), and Jaccard genetic distance (JD)) and five sample sizes (10%, 15%, 20%, 25%, 30%). Three parameters (Ne, H, and I) of genetic diversity were used to evaluate the genetic diversity of the 30 core subsets. The core subset that was constructed using preferred sampling at 15% of sample size with the SM genetic distance best represented the initial collection of the 30 core subsets and is recommended to be used as the core collection of P. haitanensis. Statement of relevancePyropia haitanensis is one of the most economically important mariculture crops of southern China. Core collection construction is important for the study, management and utilization of germplasm resources of P. haitanensis.

Genetic diversity and population structure of the mangrove lime (Merope angulata) in India revealed by AFLP and ISSR markers

The mangrove lime, Merope angulata (Willd.) Swingle (Rutaceae) is a threatened mangrove associate species occurring sporadically in the tidal forests from Papua New Guinea to the east coast of India. It is an underutilized salt tolerant plant related to Citrus. We have applied AFLP and ISSR markers to estimate the extent of genetic diversity among 55 individuals of M. angulata, sampled from two natural populations (Bhitarkanika Wildlife Sanctuary) and one ex situ population (Jharkhali Mangrove Ecological Garden) in India. A combined analysis of both AFLP and ISSR markers revealed low polymorphism (42.93%) and a moderate heterozygosity and Shannon diversity index (H=0.393, I=0.571) in the species. The Jaccard genetic distance among 55 accessions ranged from 0.16 to 0.74 (average 0.43). Analysis of population genetic structure using Bayesian method in STRUCTURE software identified two genetic clusters. FST statistics and AMOVA results indicated low population differentiation with high gene flow. Haplotype indices and mismatch distributions indicated some evidence of expansion in the two natural populations. Outcrossing test revealed a predominantly out-breeding system with high outcrossing rate. The high gene flow detected among the populations indicates that M. angulata does not face any genetic drift, and hence no local genetic differentiation and population divergence. The highly fragmented state of its habitats warrants adequate measures for maintenance of genetic diversity in this species without further depletion. This is the first report on molecular analysis of genetic diversity and population structure of M. angulata from its native distributional range in India.

Genetic relationship among Paspalum species of the subgenus Anachyris: Taxonomic and evolutionary implications

Paspalum is one of the most important genera of the Poaceae family due to its large number of species and diversity. The subgenus Anachyris comprises six species mainly from South America grouped together by sharing rare spikelet characteristics. A genetic analysis using ISSR markers, compared with the morphological and phenotypic variation observed in each one species, was used to establish genetic relationships among 40 accessions with several ploidy levels, belonging to 5 species of the subgenus Anachyris. Fourteen accessions of Paspalum malacophyllum (2x and 4x), 12 of P. simplex (2x, 3x, 4x and 6x), 4 of P. procurrens (2x and 4x), 4 of P. usterii (4x) and 6 of P. volcanensis (4x) were analysed. A total of 227 ISSR loci (98.7% polymorphic) were detected among all accessions, with variable loci number and percentages of polymorphism according to species delimitations. Six main groups were identified by cluster analysis based on Jaccard's genetic distance and UPGMA, four of which matched all the respective accessions of P. simplex, P. procurrens, P. usterii and P. volcanensis, while the other two were consistent with two different groups of accessions of P. malacophyllum, one involving most tetraploid accessions, and the other one grouping together a tetraploid and two diploid accessions. The distinctive morphological characteristics and the separate clustering of these tetraploid and diploid cytotypes suggest to consider a new multiploid species complex inside the subgenus Anachyris. Both cytotypes of P. procurrens, and the four co-specific cytotypes of P. simplex consistently clustered together forming two specific groups for the two multiploid taxons. This is in agreement with the existence of high phenotypic similarities between diploid and tetraploid cytotypes of P. procurrens, and among diploid, triploid, tetraploid and hexaploid cytotypes of P. simplex. Since the polyploid cytotypes of these species are reproduced by apomixis, the specific genetic clustering by ISSR markers and morphological and cytological results support the hypothesis that the two multiploid species were originated by autopolyploidy. Our results confirm previous studies suggesting a monophyletic origin for the subgenus Anachyris and are concordant with previous data regarding genomic homologies and phylogenetic analyses in the genus.

Genetic diversity in African yam bean accessions based on AFLP markers: towards a platform for germplasm improvement and utilization

Accurate knowledge of intra-specific diversity of underutilized crop species is a prerequisite for their genetic improvement and utilization. The diversity of 77 accessions of African yam bean (AYB, Sphenostylis stenocarpa) was assessed by amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP) markers. A total of EcoRI/MseI primer pairs were selected and 227 AFLP bands were generated, of which 59(26%) were found to be polymorphic in the 77 accessions of AYB. The most efficient primer combination for polymorphic detection was E-ACT/M-CAG with a polymorphic efficiency of 85.5%, while the least efficient was E-AGC/M-CAG with a polymorphic efficiency of 80.6%. The Jaccard genetic distance among the accessions of AYB ranged between 0.048 and 0.842 with a mean of 0.444. TSs98 and TSs104B were found to be the most similar accessions with a genetic similarity of 0.952. The neighbour-joining dendrogram grouped the 77 accessions of AYB into four distinct clusters comprising 8, 20, 21 and 28 accessions. The major clustering of the accessions was not related to their geographical origin. Cluster I was found to be the most diverse. The mean fixation index (0.203) and the mean expected heterozygosity (0.284) revealed a broad genetic base of the AYB accessions. The same germplasm set was previously evaluated for several agro-morphological traits. As the collection of additional AYB germplasm continues, the phenotypic profile, the clustering of the accessions and the AFLP primer combinations from this study can be used to augment breeding programmes.

Association analysis, genetic diversity and structure analysis of tobacco based on AFLP markers

Knowledge in the area of genetic diversity could aid in providing useful information in the selection of material for breeding such as hybridization programs and quantitative trait loci mapping. To this end, 50 Nicotiana tabacum genotypes were genotyped with 21 primer combination of amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP). A total of 480 unambiguous DNA fragments and 373 polymorphic bands were produced with an average of 17.76 per primer combination. Also, the results revealed high polymorphic rate varing from 52.63 to 92.59%, demonstrating that AFLP technique utilized in this research can be a powerful and valuable tool in the breeding program of N. tabacum. Cluster analysis based on complete linkage method using Jaccard's genetic distance, grouped the 50 tobacco genotypes into eight clusters including three relatively big clusters, one cluster including Golden gift, Burly 7022 and Burly Kreuzung, one cluster consisting of two individuals (Pereg234, R9) and three single-member clusters (Pennbel69, Coker176 and Budisher Burley E), Recent genotypes showed high genetic distance from other genotypes belonging to cluster I and II. Association analysis between seven important traits and AFLP markers were performed using four statistical models. The results revealed the model containing both the factors, population structure (Q) and general similarity in genetic background arising from shared kinship (K), reduces false positive associations between markers and phenotype. According to the results nine markers were determined that could be considered to be the most interesting candidates for further studies.

Genetic diversity and mycelial compatibility groups of the plant-pathogenic fungus Sclerotinia sclerotiorum in Brazil

The genetic variability of 40 Sclerotinia sclerotiorum isolates from various fields widely distributed throughout Brazil and different host crops was analyzed using RAPD markers and mycelial compatibility groupings (MCGs). The isolates were characterized using 16 random primers of the OPERON series, which produced 121 DNA fragments. UPGMA cluster analysis using Jaccard's genetic distance and MCGs allowed separation of the isolates into three clusters, with similarity indices of 68.2, 61.8, and 61.8%, and five MCGs. The haplotypes obtained with RAPD markers provided very characteristic groupings of S. sclerotiorum isolates according to MCG, but did not show any relationship with geographic origin or host type. Furthermore, analysis of molecular variance demonstrated that 99.1% of the observed variation was a result of genetic differences between individuals; the host culture did not have a significant effect. This is the first report of high level variability of S. sclerotiorum in Brazil based on the study of isolates of wide geographical origin, supported by RAPD markers and MCGs. These results endorse the prevalence of sexual reproduction in tropical and subtropical regions in contrast to clonal reproduction in temperate regions.

Method of Constructing Core Collection for Malus sieversii in Xinjiang, China Using Molecular Markers

The method for constructing core collection of Malus sieversii based on molecular marker data was proposed. According to 128 SSR allele of 109 M. sieversii, an allele preferred sampling strategy was used to construct M. sieversii core collection, using the UPGMA (unweighted pair-group average method) cluster method according to Nei & Li, SM, and Jaccard genetic distances, by stepwise clustering, and compared with the random sampling strategy. The number of lost allele and t-test of Nei's gene diversity and Shannon's information index were used to evaluate the representative core collections. The results showed that compared with the random sampling strategy, allele preferred sampling strategy could construct more representative core collections. SM, Jaccard, and Nei & Li genetic distances had no significant difference for construction of M. sieversii core collection. SRAP (sequence-related amplified polymorphism) data and morphological data showed that allele preferred sampling strategy was a good sampling strategy for constructing core collection of M. sieversii. Allele preferred sampling strategy combined with SM, Jaccard, and Nei & Li genetic distances using stepwise clustering was the suitable method for constructing M. sieversii core collection.

Estimation of genetic diversity among Turkish kale populations (Brassica oleracea var. acephala L.) using RAPD markers

20 populations of kale (B. oleracea var. acephala L.) selected from 127 populations for fresh consumption terms of yield and leaf quality characteristics as superior types using weight-based ranking method from the Black Sea Region of Turkey were evaluated at the DNA level using randomly amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) markers compared to some morphological characters. The 7 primers selected from 100 decamers used generated 110 bands, of which 60 (54.5%) were polymorphic. Jaccard's genetic distances were calculated and dendogram was generated using the UPGMA algorithm. The dendogram obtained were classified into three main groups and four subgroups. The accessions showed a limited clustering in compare to morphological characters such as the number of leaf, leaf intentation of the margin, leaf and midrib color and thickness of midrib than geographical characteristics. Leaf color and midrib thickness characters clustered in the same group as OR49 and G18 accessions; S20, G6 and OR37 accessions, respectively.

RAPD analysis of genetic diversity and population genetic structure of Stipa krylovii reshov. in Inner Mongolia steppe

Random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) analysis was used to characterize the genetic diversity and population genetic structure of Stipa krylovii populations in Inner Mongolia steppe of North China. Thirteen 10 bp oligonucleotide primers, which generated 237 RAPD bands, were used to analyze 90 plants of five populations from three regions, meadow steppe, typical steppe and desert steppe, from the east to the west. The genetic diversity of Stipa krylovii that was revealed by observed number of alleles (na), expected number of alleles (ne), Nei's diversity index (h), Shannon's diversity index (H), amplificated loci, polymorphic loci and the percentage of polymorphic loci (PPB) increased from the east to the west. The Pearson's correlation analysis between genetic diversity parameters and ecological parameters indicated that the genetic diversity of Stipa krylovii was associated with precipitation and cumulative temperature variations along the longitude (humidity were calculated by precipitation and cumulative temperature). Dendrogram based on Jaccard's genetic distance showed that the individuals from the same population formed a single sub-group. Although most variation (56.85%) was within populations, there was high genetic differentiation among populations of Stipa krylovii, high differentiation within and between regions by AMOVA analysis. Either Nei's unbiased genetic distance (G(ST)) or gene flow (Nm) among pairwise populations was not correlated with geographical distance by Mantel's test (P > 0.05), suggesting that there was no consistency with the isolation by distance model in these populations. Natural selection may have played a role in affecting the genetic diversity and population structure, but habitat destruction and degradation in northern grassland in China may be the main factor responsible for high genetic differentiation among populations, within and among regions.

Isozyme Banding Pattern and Estimation of Genetic Diversity among Guinea Grass Germplasm

Isozyme banding pattern was studied in Guinea grass (Panicum maximum Jacq.), a widely cultivated grass having good fodder value. Similarity among 63 accessions collected from diverse sources was worked out using five enzyme systems (SOD, GOT, ACP, Esterase and Peroxidase) following horizontal starch gel electrophoresis. Biochemical markers such as isozymes are useful supplements in identifying the genetic variation present in any crop. A total of 35 clear and unambiguous bands were used for analysis of which 8 bands were monomorphic. Polymorphism exhibited by 27 bands from all five enzyme systems indicate presence of considerable diversity in this species. The dendrogram generated after UPGMA and SAHN cluster analysis using Jaccard genetic distance showed that 63 accessions from diverse geographical locations could be grouped in three main clusters, of which two could further be divided into sub-clusters. Although the clusters comprised members from different locations, most of the accessions from similar geographical locations tended to cluster in same group.

Genetic diversity of the Andean tuber-bearing species, oca (Oxalis tuberosa Mol.), investigated by inter-simple sequence repeats

The Andean tuber-bearing species, Oxalis tuberosa Mol., is a vegetatively propagated crop cultivated in the uplands of the Andes. Its genetic diversity was investigated in the present study using the inter-simple sequence repeat (ISSR) technique. Thirty-two accessions originating from South America (Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, and Peru) and maintained in vitro were chosen to represent the ecogeographic diversity of its cultivation area. Twenty-two primers were tested and 9 were selected according to fingerprinting quality and reproducibility. Genetic diversity analysis was performed with 90 markers. Jaccard's genetic distance between accessions ranged from 0 to 0.49 with an average of 0.28 +/- 0.08 (mean +/- SD). Dendrogram (UPGMA (unweighted pair-group method with arithmetic averaging)) and factorial correspondence analysis (FCA) showed that the genetic structure was influenced by the collection site. The two most distant clusters contained all of the Peruvian accessions, one from Bolivia, none from Argentina or Chile. Analysis by country revealed that Peru presented the greatest genetic distances from the other countries and possessed the highest intra-country genetic distance (0.30 +/- 0.08). This suggests that the Peruvian oca accessions form a distinct genetic group. The relatively low level of genetic diversity in the oca species may be related to its predominating reproduction strategy, i.e., vegetative propagation. The extent and structure of the genetic diversity of the species detailed here should help the establishment of conservation strategies.

Hypothesis testing of genetic similarity based on RAPD data using Mantel tests and model matrices

Clustering and ordination procedures in multivariate analyses have been widely used to describe patterns of genetic distances. However, in some cases, such as when dealing with Jaccard coefficients based on RAPD data, these techniques may fail to represent genetic distances because of the high dimensionality of the genetic distances caused by stochastic variation in DNA fragments among the units analyzed (species or populations). In this note, we show how Mantel tests can be used to test hypotheses about genetic distances and avoid problems with multivariate data representation. The procedure is illustrated with RAPD data comparing 20 anuran species from the cerrado, in which Jaccard genetic distances were compared to three model matrices linking the species at distinct taxonomic levels.

Genetic relationships between Sicilian wild populations of Brassica analysed with RAPD markers

Abstract Brassica comprises very variable species, both morphologically and genetically. Among these species, the Sicilian populations of Brassica sect. Brassica, species related to kale crops form a complex group. The genetic relationships among 15 populations occurring in Sicily and one from Calabria, representing the existing diversity, have been investigated using random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) markers. This assay, carried out with 22 arbitrary primers, generated 236 polymorphic fragments, 21 of which were specific for single populations (mainly Brassica insularis, Brassica incana and Brassica macro‐carpa). Jaccard's genetic distances were computed and the phylogenic tree was established using the UPGMA algorithm. The dendrogram obtained showed four branches grouping: (1) B. incana populations; (2) B. insularis and B. macrocarpa, occurring in small islands around Sicily; (3) B. rupestris populations; and (4) B. villosa populations. Within B. rupestris, only B. rupestris subsp. brevisiliqua was clustered in the B. villosa group. The classification obtained is discussed with regard to the morphological, ecological and geographical data.