Evaluation of some garlic (Allium sativum L.) mutants resistant to white rot disease by RAPD analysis

Random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) analysis was used to evaluate genet ic diversity among eight garlic mutants resistant to white rot disease (Scl erotium cepivorum). Twelve of the 13 synthetic random primers were found to identify polymorphism in amplification products. Mutants characterised wit h moderate resistance to white rot were closely related to the control usin g cluster and correlation analyses. On the other hand, highly resistant mut ants were quite distant from the control with low correlation coefficients. The banding patterns produced by primer OPB-15 (GGAGGGTGTT) with highly re sistant mutants may by used as genetic markers for early selection of resis tant plants.