Conversion of an RAPD marker to an STS marker for barley variety identification

Barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) variety identification is important to the malting and brewing industries. Because many new malting cultivars (varieties) are closely related, new and more effective identification techniques are needed. We report on a series of techniques used to convert an RAPD marker to a more stable STS marker that can identify barley Stander from Robust, an important distinction for the American malting and brewing industries. The techniques included DNA extraction, RAPD amplification, random cloning of all amplified fragments, selection of clones by insert size, DNA sequencing of select inserts, design of a barley-based primer pair, and detection of a single nucleotide polymorphism using restriction endonucleaseAlu I. The barley-based primer pair was used to further sequence the RAPD fragment. Five single nucleotide polymorphisms between Robust and Stander exist, one of which was detected by electrophoresing DNA fragments differentially restricted byAlu I. The conversion technique was different from ones previously reported in that it did not require manual extraction of DNA fragments from a gel. This could be applied to other situations in which RAPD marker conversion would be desirable.