ANALYSIS OF TETRAPLOID ELYMUS SPECIES USING WHEAT MICROSATELLITE MARKERS AND RAPD MARKERS

An analysis of Amplification fragment polymorphism of DNA from 27 acce ssions of 19 tetraploid Elymus species was carried out using 18 wheat microsatellite (WMS) primer pairs and 10 decamer primers. Ten WMS prim er pairs produced multiple polymorphism on all accessions tested. Two independent phenograms, one based on WMS-PCR and one on RAPDs, separat ed the 19 tetraploid species into two main groups, viz., the SH genome species group and the SY genome species group. The results coincide w ith the genomic classification of these species and hence support prev ious studies showing that Elymus is not a monophyletic genus. The assa ys indicated that accessions within a species cluster together, which concurs with the morphological classification. Interspecific and intra specific polymorphisms were detected by the WMS-PCR and RAPD analyses. Variation was observed among accessions of Elymus caninus. The WMS-PC R detected a much higher level of polymorphism than the RAPD analysis. WMSs seem to be more efficient markers than RAPD markers for studying the population diversity of Elymus species. The potential of cross-sp ecies amplification of microsatellite markers as an additional source for genetic analysis and applications in Elymus is discussed in the co ntext of these results.