RELATIONSHIPS AMONG CULTIVATED AND WILD LENTILS REVEALED BY RAPD ANALYSIS

RAPD markers were used to distinguish between six different Lens taxa representing cultivated lentil and its wild relatives. Twenty-four arb itrary sequence 10-mer primers were identified which revealed robust a nd easily interpretable amplification-pro duct profiles. These generat ed a total of 88 polymorphic bands in 54 accessions and were used to p artition variation within and among Lens taxa. The data showed that, o f the taxa examined, ssp. orientalis is most similar to cultivated len til. L. ervoides was the most divergent wild taxon followed by L. nigr icans. The genetic similarity between the latter two species was of th e same magnitude as between ssp. orientalis and cultivated lentil. In addition, species-diagnostic amplification products specific to L. ode mensis, L. ervoides and L. nigricans were identified. These results co rrespond well with previous isozyme and RFLP studies. RAPDs, however, appear to provide a greater degree of resolution at a sub-species leve l. The level of variation detected within cultivated lentils suggests that RAPD markers may be an appropriate technology for the constructio n of genetic linkage maps between closely related Lens accessions.