RAPD and ISSR Methods Used for Fingerprinting Selected, Closely Related Cultivars of Aronia melanocarpa

RAPD (Random Amplified Polymorphic DNA) and ISSR (Inter Simple Sequence Repeats) markers were used to analyse the genetic diversity between six genotypes of Aronia melanocarpa (Hugin, Nero, N, Viking, Galicjanka 1 and Galicjanka 2), collected at the Department of Pomology at the West Pomeranian University of Technology in Szczecin, Poland. Analysis of 24 RAPD and 25 ISSR primers showed very low genetic diversity between the compared cultivars. Analysis of 214 RAPD loci and 184 ISSR loci revealed that the following five genotypes: Nero, N, Viking, Galicjanka 1 and Galicjanka 2 are characterized by a very small range of diversity in comparison to the substantially different cultivar Hugin. For each genotype, specific products were generated, including 36 products generated in RAPD reactions for cultivar Hugin only, and 20 for the other five genotypes altogether. Specific products were amplified also with the use of the ISSR technique. Thirty-nine ISSR products were generated for the cultivar Hugin only, and 8 for the other five genotypes altogether. Results of the research indicate a very small range of diversity between the Aronia accessions. Analysis of mutual genotypic relationships between the compared accessions was carried out with the use of the Mantel test and found a significant correlation (r(AB)=0.531) between similarity matrices calculated on the basis of results obtained with the use of the RAPD and ISSR techniques.