Evaluation of RAPD markers as a marker-assisted selection tool for variety type and erucic acid content in rapeseed

Random amplification of polymorphic DNA (RAPD) analysis was performed on twelve rapeseed genotypes from Institute of Field and Vegetable Crops, Novi Sad, Serbia, genepool in order to identify markers that could be used in marker assisted selection (MAS) for different growing type and selection of the varieties with low or zero level of erucic acid. Out of fifteen RAPD markers, three were monomorphic, whereas twelve had polymorphic profiles. Three primers amplified specific fragments in spring varieties. UBC 25 and UBC 191 amplified the fragments of 450 and 750 bp, respectively, in all tested spring varieties, except in JR-NS-36. Primer UBC 72 generated a fragment of 700 bp that was present in all spring varieties. These fragments were not present in any of winter varieties. None of the tested RAPD primers amplified fragment(s) uniquely present either in varieties with or without (0%) erucic acid or with different erucic acid content. Cluster analysis showed a concordance between the position of varieties in the cluster and their pedigree information, but also enabled separation of spring and winter varieties. Contingency analysis confirmed that fragment UBC 72_700 is specific for spring varieties, while for erucic acid content, only moderate association was found with UBC 137_750.