Microsatellite amplification in Brassica napus cultivars: cultivar variability and relationship to a long-term feral population

Data from 83 Brassica microsatellites showed that null alleles, monomorphic loci and the amplification of multiple bands were relatively common. The data we have gathered here are essential for avoiding time consuming and costly optimization procedures. We used the data from 43 primers to assess the relationship between 13 cultivars and one long-term feral population. The established feral population was found to be most similar to, but genetically differentiated from, the winter cultivars. Some feral plants clustered tightly with the winter cultivars, suggesting that only a small proportion of the population was generated from recently spilt seed. Since there was no similarity between the spring cultivars and the feral population, we suggest that a GM trait introduced into a spring cultivar is less likely to persist in the environment.[PUBLICATION ABSTRACT]