Evaluation of RFLP analysis for discriminating PCNA genotype in some persimmon cultivars

The cultivation of the PCNA (pollination- constant and non-astringent)- typ e persimmon is advantageous because of its natural loss of astringency on t he tree. We previously found RFLP markers linked to the dominant alleles co ntrolling the PCNA/non-PCNA trait and showed that the PCNA genotype could b e distinguished from non-PCNA genotype by these markers in the breeding pop ulations. In this study, RFLP markers were investigated with 33 persimmon c ultivars. All PCNA cultivars except for Chinese 'Luo Tian Tian Shi', had id entical banding pattern, whereas the non- PCNA cultivars exhibited many pol ymorphic bands. Thus, we could distinguish PCNA cultivars of Japanese origi n from non- PCNA cultivars by the RFLP analysis, although 'Luo Tian Tian Sh i' was mistakenly classified as a non-PCNA type. These results suggest that this marker system could be applied to distinguish PCNA cultivars of Japan ese origin from non-PCNA ones.