AFLP fingerprinting of elite varieties (clones) from the genus Populus

Abstract

Accurate identification of varieties (clones) and knowledge of their genetic relationships are essential for poplar breeding and variety management. In this study, 21 elite poplar varieties of Tacamahaca and Aigeiros in China were fingerprinted using amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP) markers. Four AFLP primer pairs developed generated totally 181 AFLP polymorphic fragments, and in particular, each primer pair generated fingerprint profiles specific to each of the tested varieties. The genetic relationships among the varieties were evaluated by dendrograms and multidimensional scaling (MDS). The results showed that the tested poplar can be classified into five groups, and indicated the clear separation of varieties of different sections of poplar and the primary distinction between native and exotic poplar varieties. This study indicated that tested poplar varieties could be identified by their fingerprint profiles and that genetic relationships deduced from the study were consistent with their genealogy. In addition, our results demonstrated that AFLP could be used to construct DNA fingerprints of poplar clones at a large-scale level and to determine genetic relationships of poplar varieties.