Genomic changes associated with somaclonal variation in banana ( Musa spp.)

The molecular basis of somaclonal variation is not precisely known, but both genetic and epigenetic mechanisms have been proposed. The available evidence points toward the existence of labile portions of the genome that can be modulated when the cells undergo the stress of tissue culture. Therefore, the hypothesis that there are identifiable and predictable DNA markers for the early diagnosis of somaclonal variation has been tested. Representational difference analysis was used to isolate unique fragments of DNA (difference products) between visible culture‐induced off‐type and normal banana plants. Markers generated from six difference products differentiated between some of the off‐type and normal pairs. The genomic region around one of these difference products has been extensively characterized and has a high degree of polymorphism, with variation in up to 10% of the nucleotides sequenced in the region. This same region has been shown to vary in other pairs of off‐type and normal banana plants derived from tissue culture as well as in plants propagated commercially in vitro. The data are consistent with the hypothesis that there is at least one particularly labile portion of the genome that is especially susceptible to the stress imposed during tissue culture and that is associated with higher rearrangement and mutation rates than other portions of the genome. Consequently, the regions that are reported here have the potential to be used as early detection tools for identifying somaclonal variants.