USE OF RANDOM CDNA PROBES TO DETECT RESTRICTION-FRAGMENT-LENGTH-POLYMORPHISMS AMONG APPLE CLONES

The existence and usefulness of restriction fragment length polymorphisms (RFLPs) among apple clones were investigated. A cDNA library of micropropagated McIntosh cultivar 'Wijcik' plantlets was constructed in the vector-lambda gt 11 and used as a source of random probes to identify RFLPs. One probe, pCW-1, which revealed a high level of intercultivar polymorphisms, was selected. This probe, in combination with three restriction enzymes, was used to distinguish by Southern blotting 10 cultivars and rootstocks from each other. Moreover, inheritance of the RFLPs detected by this probe was observed.