GENETIC DIVERSITY IN EUROPEAN AND MEDITERRANEAN FABA BEAN GERM PLASM REVEALED BY RAPD MARKERS

Broadening of the genetic base and systematic exploitation of heterosi s in faba bean requires reliable information on the genetic diversity in the germ plasm. Three groups of faba bean inbred lines were examine d by means of RAPDs (random amplified polymorphic DNAs) assays: 13 Eur opean small-seeded lines, 6 European large-seeded lines, and 9 Mediter ranean lines. Out of 59 primers, 35 were informative and yielded 365 b ands, 289 of which were polymorphic with a mean of 8.3 bands per prime r. Monomorphic bands were omitted from the analyses and genetic distan ces (GD) were estimated via the coefficient of Jaccard. The mean GD am ong the European small-seeded lines was significantly greater than tho se among the lines of the other two groups. Repeatability of GD estima tes was high. Cluster (UPGMA) and principal coordinate analyses identi fied European small-seeded lines and Mediterranean lines as distinct g roups with European large-seeded lines located in between. The results are in harmony with published archaeobotanical findings. We conclude that RAPDs are useful for classification of germ plasm and identificat ion of divergent heterotic groups in faba bean.