RAPID IDENTIFICATION OF WHITE-ENGELMANN SPRUCE SPECIES BY RAPD MARKERS

Fragments of random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPDs) were used as mar kers to distinguish Picea glauca (Moench) Voss (white spruce) and Pice a engelmannii Parry (Engelmann spruce). These species and their putati ve hybrids are difficult to differentiate morphologically and are coll ectively known as interior spruce. Four oligodeoxynucleotide decamer p rimers showed species-specific amplification products between white sp ruce and Engelmann spruce. These fragments are highly conserved among seed lots and individual trees of each species from diverse geographic origins. The consistency and reproducibility of these species-specifi c amplification products were tested in more than two amplification re actions. Therefore, RAPD markers can provide genetic markers for easy and rapid identification of the specific genetic entry of these spruce species and their reported putative hybrids. According to the frequen cies of the species-specific RAPD markers, it is possible to estimate the hybrid fraction, indicative of true introgression between the two species. These results are useful for quick identification of both spe cies and their hybrid swarms at any stage in the sporophyte phase of t he life cycle, for determining the occurrence and the magnitude of int rogressive hybridization in an overlap zone between the two species, a nd for certification purposes in operational re-forestation and tree-i mprovement programs.