Linkage disequilibrium and fingerprinting in sugar beet

It has been suggested that map information for molecular markers can be use d to strengthen finterprinting analyses. The success of this strategy depen ds on the distribution of linkage disequilibrium over the genome. Using 451 mapped AFLP markers, we investigated the occurrence of linkage disequilibr ium in nine sugar beet breeding lines. A low but significant level of linka ge disequilibium was found for unlinked markers. Only for very tigthly link ed (<3 cM) markers was this level substantially higher. This implies that l ittle is gained in utilising the map position of the markers in fingerprint ing applications.