SRAP Markers and Morphological Traits Could Be Used in Test of Distinctiveness, Uniformity, and Stability (DUS) of Lettuce (Lactuca sativa) Varieties

Abstract

The test of distinctiveness, uniformity, and stability (DUS) is a necessary step for variety identification and new variety application. The objective of this study is to provide molecular marker-assisted approach combined with morphological trait-based testing for more convenient and fast DUS test and identification of varieties. Eighteen pairs of SRAP markers and 40 morphological traits for DUS test were applied for genetic diversity analysis of 50 lettuce (Lactuca sativa) varieties. Average polymorphism information content (PIC) of the SRAP markers was 0.80, ranging from 0.39 to 0.97. Cluster analysis using UPGMA of the band patterns amplified by SRAP marker and morphological trait-based clustering separated the varieties into three groups. The correlation coefficient of SRAP marker and morphological traits was 0.5455 reflecting that the two clustering results shared some similarity and consistence. It revealed that the combination of both SRAP marker and morphological trait analysis is more conducive to proper identification and classification of plant varieties, which will undoubtedly bring an alternative choice to DUS testing of plant new varieties and conservation of plant germplasm.

Agronomic, nutraceutical and molecular variability of feijoa (Acca sellowiana (O. Berg) Burret) germplasm

“…Furthermore, morphological traits capture only a small portion of allelic variation, whereas SRAP analysis provides a more extensive coverage of the genome (Al-Faifi et al, 2013). Our results are in agreement with previous studies that reported moderate or low correlation between the morphological traits and SRAP analysis (Fufa et al, 2005;Liu et al, 2012).…”

SSR marker based analysis for identification and of genetic diversity of non-heading Chinese cabbage varieties

“…The effectiveness and accuracy of any distinctness assessment relies on the existence of a comprehensive and accurate database of commonly known varieties. The currently available database is based on the morphological characterization of commonly known varieties, which, although accurate and scientifically robust, also has several limitations, being slow, expensive, resource intensive, and time-consuming ( Liu et al., 2012 ). In addition, as morphological characteristics are easily affected by environmental factors, such as temperature, light, and fertilizer application, and data collected in different ecological places or in different seasons may be quite different, which may cause errors when screening for similar varieties using the distinctness test.…”