Identification of wild and cultivated Hordeum species using two-primer RAPD fragments

Random amplified polymorphic DNAs (RAPD) analysis has been adapted to assess the degree of RAPD polymorphism within the genus Hordeum to determine if this approach can distinguish wild and cultivated species. Nineteen wild and seven cultivated accessions were evaluated using 4 random 10-mer primers. The potential of the RAPD assay was further increased by combining two primers in a single polymerase chain reaction (PCR). RAPD fragments generated by two pairs of arbitrary 10-mer primers discriminated six wild species and one cultivated species by banding profiles. The size of the amplified DNA fragments ranged from 150 to 2300 base pairs. 33 %percent of the fragments were common to both wild and cultivated species; 67% were specific to either wild or cultivated species. The average difference in fragments was less within the species than among the species. By comparing RAPD fingerprints of wild and cultivated barley, markers were identified among the set of amplified DNA fragments which could be used to distinguish wild and cultivated Hordeum species. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.