Assessment of somaclonal variation in asparagus by RAPD fingerprinting andcytogenetic analyses

RAPD and cytogenetic analyses were carried out to detect somaclonal variati on in somatic embryo-derived plants from two elite genotypes ('265' and '35 7') of Asparagus officinalis L. cv. Argenteuil. These two approaches were c hosen for their capacity to detect, respectively, changes at the level of D NA sequence or chromosomal structure. Seventy-seven plants regenerated from three embryogenic lines ('265-1', '265-2' and '357-1') exhibited no intrac lonal variation for 157 RAPD markers, even though two plants from line '357 -1' presented dwarf phenotypes. Cytogenetic analyses revealed that the dwar f plants were mixoploid; two other, phenotypically normal plants from line '357-1' were aneuploids and presented many meiotic irregularities. The rema ining regenerants from this and the other lines were genetically stable wit h regard to the donor plants. Molecular markers and cytogenetic analysis ar e complementary approaches that should allow a correct assessment of somacl onal variation in asparagus. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights rese rved.