Genetic variation analysis in the genus Lathyrus using RAPD markers

RAPD analysis was applied to five species belonging to the genus Lathyrus (Fabaceae): L. sativus, L. cicera, L. ochrus, L. sylvestris and L. latifolius. All the species under study belong to the section Lathyrus except L. ochrus which is in section Clymenum. Nine populations representing these species were used and ten random 10-mer primers were sampled. A total of 129 amplification products, ranging in size from 0.3 to 3 Kb, were generated. Partitioning of variation was studied using the AMOVA technique. The genetic variation proved to be nearly equally distributed among species and among populations within species. A similar approach was carried out to distinguish populations, which proved to be efficient. The between population dissimilarities were calculated and a dendrogram of genetic relationships was drawn. The RAPDs obtained were sufficient to distinguish between the two accessions of a species and to separate these accessions by clustering them according to species. A high genetic similarity between the populations of L. sylvestris and L. latifolius was established. A similar result is also shown for the populations of L. sativus and L. cicera.