Identification of Pistacia x saportae Burnat (Anacardiaceae) by RAPD analysis and morphological characters

Pistacia x saportae (Anacardiaceae) is a hybrid between Pistacia lentiscus and Pistacia terebinthus. The plants are of vigorous growth and are importa nt as possible rootstocks for the cultivation of Pistacia vera, since they offer resistance to Verticillium infections. However, for nonexpert botanis ts they are difficult to identify. Therefore, a rapid and inexpensive test was developed to identify these plants reliably. Six RAPID primers were fou nd that resulted in species-specific and fixed amplification products, most of which are shared with P. x saportae, The application of RAPD markers pe rmits the rapid screening of a high number of plants in order to confirm th eir hybrid origin with a reasonable expenditure of both time and money. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.