DNA PROFILING AND PLANT VARIETY REGISTRATION .2. RESTRICTION-FRAGMENT-LENGTH-POLYMORPHISMS IN VARIETIES OF OILSEED RAPE

The analysis of restriction fragment length polymorphisms (RFLP) as a means of distinguishing between varieties of oilseed/forage rape is de scribed. Of the 62 varieties tested, 99.2% of the pair-wise comparison s could be readily distinguished by the use of a single restriction di gest in conjunction with two multi-copy genomic clones as DNA probes. These data were subjected to cluster analysis. The additional use of o ne simple sequence repeat oligonucleotide as a probe distinguished all but one pair of varieties. The results are considered in the context of the use of RFLP analysis for statutory Distinctness, Uniformity and Stability testing and plant variety registration.