Use of molecular markers for the analysis of plant genome

A brief review of literature data concerning the utilization of molecular m arkers for investigation of plant genome organization and variability is pr esented. Attention is focused on the RAPD markers generated using polymeras e chain reaction with arbitrary primers (RAPD analysis). Works on the RAPD polymorphism in plants an different taxonomic levels are analyzed. The effe ctiveness of these markers for the construction of genetic maps and enrichm ent of these maps with new markers is demonstrated. The possible suitabilit y of molecular markers for investigation of somaclonal variation and plant somatic hybridization was examined. The effectiveness of the RAPD analysis for estimation of genetic variability of initial selection material is disc ussed.