RFLP VARIABILITY IN APRICOT (PRUNUS-ARMENIACA L.)

The level of polymorphism of the restriction fragment length polymorph isms (RFLPs) detected by 33 almond genomic and cDNA probes was studied in a set of 52 European and North-American apricot cultivars. Eightee n of these probes were polymorphic and yielded a total of 48 scorable bands, allowing the identification of 45 different phenotypes. Most cu ltivars (43) had an individually distinguishable RFLP phenotype, and t hree of the five clusters with the same phenotype contained cultivars that were likely to be synonymous. The group of Spanish cultivars (25) had a lower level of polymorphism than the others, suggesting that bo ttlenecks may have occurred in the recent history of the apricot that have eroded its genetic variability.