EVALUATION OF RANDOM AMPLIFIED POLYMORPHIC DNA (RAPD) MARKERS IN HEVEA-BRASILIENSIS

The applicability of random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) markers i n the cultivated rubber tree, Hevea, was evaluated using 43 decamer ol igonucleotide primers in a set of 24 clones selected in different Sout h-East Asian countries. A total of 220 0.35-3.5 kb DNA fragments were amplified, of which 111 were polymorphic. Of these, 80 fragments (RAPD markers) which were repeatable and clearly scorable across all genoty pes were used to estimate genetic distances among the clones tested. T he estimated genetic distances ranged from 0.05 (RRII 308 and PB 5/51) to 0.75 (RRIC 100 and SCATC 88-13). A mean genetic distance of 0.5 in dicates a rather high genetic variability among the tested clones. As expected, because of the breeding history of Hevea, UPGMA cluster anal ysis and Principal Coordinate Analysis (PCoA) indicated the absence of a distinct geographical grouping. The possible application of RAPD ma rkers for clone identification and also for analysis of genetic relati onships among Hevea clones is discussed.