Assessment of Genetic Stability Among In Vitro Plants of Arachis retusa Using RAPD and AFLP Markers for Germplasm Preservation

Arachis retusa Krapov. et W. C. Gregory et Valls is endemic in the West-central region of Brazil, occurring in areas endangered by human actions. The establishment of in vitro preservation methods for wild species of Arachis isan alternative to seed banks for germplasm storage, multiplication and distribution. The risk of genetic changesinduced by tissue culture and the monitoring of the genetic stability of the biological material before, during andafter storage must be considered in the context of conservation. Random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) andamplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP) fingerprinting were used to evaluate the genetic stability of invitro plants originated from cotyledons and embryo axes of A. retusa. Cotyledons originated shoots through directorganogenesis and embryo axes displayed multishoot formation induced by 110 mmol/L and 8.8 mmol/L BAP,respectively. Ninety genomlc regions (loci) generated from RAPD and 372 from AFLP analyses were evaluated. Allamplified fragments detected by both techniques in plants derived from the two explant types were monomorphic.The results indicate that the recovered shoots are genetically stable at the assessed genomic regions.