Efficiency of RAPD in assessing genetic variation in commercially viable local varieties of blueberry (Vaccinium)

Christian Mandiola  Quililongo; Pamela Villouta  Wheeler; Luis Velásquez  Cumplido; Miguel Ríos  Ramírez; Jorge Escobar  Fica

doi:10.4236/as.2013.45034

Christian Mandiola Quililongo, Pamela Villouta Wheeler, Luis Velásquez Cumplido, Miguel Ríos Ramírez, Jorge Escobar Fica

Abstract: The growth in both production and plantation surface area of blueberries in Chile has been positive, with an estimated surface area of 13,057 hectares (16.9% planting surface) and production in the order of 56,000 tons (16.3% mundial production). Of all the different species of blueberry there are several varieties that have advantages with regard to certain conditions; for example, one variety adapts better to the climate of a particular area, while others are better for early or late harvests, they can also be resistant to fungus, bacteria, etc. Companies are very interested in this issue because prior knowledge of such data can bring financial benefits. Blueberries have a significant degree of morphological variation, which enables recognition of different clones with different environmental adaptation characteristics, but it also allows us to discriminate between different levels of fruit quality, which is of commercial interest. However, these morphological characteristics are late in their expression, making it impossible to recognize the clones in the early stage of their development. A more efficient tool to be able to recognize different clones is the use of molecular markers. Of the techniques based the RAPD (randomly amplified polymorphic DNA). They have the advantage that the method has no need for prior knowledge of the DNA sequence. It is of great interest to the private sector to have prior access to information on the types of clone they possess, in order to then be able to differentiate the varieties, but for this it is necessary to obtain a quick and economical technique. In this study, through the use of RAPD-PCR, it is possible to differentiate between different varieties of Vaccinium grown in Chile in order to then optimize blueberry production in terms of time and resources.

Keywords: Blueberry; RAPD; Genetic Variation; Molecular Marker

Cite this paper: Quililongo, C. , Wheeler, P. , Cumplido, L. , Ramírez, M. and Fica, J. (2013) Efficiency of RAPD in assessing genetic variation in commercially viable local varieties of blueberry (Vaccinium). Agricultural Sciences, 4, 238-243. doi: 10.4236/as.2013.45034.

References

[1] Ratnaparkhe, M.B. (2007) Fruits and nuts. Genome Mapping and Molecular Breeding in Plants, 4, 217. doi:10.1007/978-3-540-34533-6_10

[2] Bravo, J. (2012) Mercado de arándanos, sin nubarrones en el horizonte. http://www.chilealimentos.com/medios/Servicios/noticiero/EstudioMercadoCoyuntura_2012/Congelados/ mercado_arandanos_Odepa.pdf

[3] Urrutia, G. (2000) Arándanos: Un mercado en expansión. Programa gestión Agropecuaria, Fundación Chile.

[4] Bradshaw, A.D. (1965) Evolutionary significance of phenotypic plasticity in plants. Advanced Generation, 13, 115-155.

[5] Stewart, C.N. and Nilsen, E.T. (1995) Pheno-typic plasticity and genetic variation of Vaccinium macrocarpon, the American cranberry. II. Reaction norms and spatial clonal patterns in two marginal populations. International Journal of Plant Sciences, 156, 698-708. doi:10.1086/297292

[6] Persson, H.A. and Gustavsson, B. A. (2001) The extent of clonality and genetic diversity in lin-gonberry (Vaccinium vitis-idaea L.) revealed by RAPDs and leaf-shape analysis. Molecular Ecology, 10, 1385-1397. doi:10.1046/j.1365-294X.2001.01280.x

[7] Scrosati, R. (2002) An updated definition of genet aplicable to clonal seaweeds bryophytes, and vascular plant. Basic and Applied Ecology, 3, 97-99. doi:10.1078/1439-1791-00106

[8] Eriksson, O. (1992) Evolution of seed dispersal and recruitment in clonal plants. Oikos, 63, 439-448. doi:10.2307/3544970

[9] Garkava-Gustavsson, L., Persson, H.A., Nybom, H., Rumpunen, K., Gustavsson, A. and Bartish, I.V. (2005) RAPD-based analysis of genetic diversity and selection of lingonberry (Vaccinium vitis-idaea L.) material for ex situ conservation. Genetic Resources and Crop Evolution, 52, 723-735. doi:10.1007/s10722-003-6123-4

[10] Hjalmarsson, I. and Ortiz, R. (1998) Effect of Genotype and enviroment on vegetative and reproductive characteristics of Lingonberry (Vaccinium vitis-idaea L.). Acta Agric. Scan. Sect. and Plant Sci. 48, 255-262.

[11] Kabelka, E.A. and Kristen, K. (2010) Identification of molecular markers associated with resistance to squash silver leaf disorder in summer squash (Cucurbita pepo). Euphytica, 173, 49-54. doi:10.1007/s10681-009-0105-3

[12] Emshwiller, E. (2000) Ploidy levels among species in th “Oxalis tuberose Alliance” as inferred by flow cytometry. Annals of Botany, 89, 741-753.

[13] Karp, A., Kresovich, S., Bhat, K.V., Ayad, W.G. and Hodgkin, T. (1997) Molecular tools in plant genetic resources conservation: a guide to the technologies. http://www.ipgri.cgiar.org/publications/pdf/138.pdf

[14] Kel-logg, E. and Bennetzen, J.L. (2004) The evolution of nuclear genome structure in seed plant. American Journal of Botany, 91, 1709-1725. doi:10.3732/ajb.91.10.1709

[15] Fischer, M., Husi, R., Prati, D., Peintinger, M., van Kleunen, M. and Schmid, B. (2000) RAPD variation among and within small and large populations of the rare clonal plant Ranunculus reptans (RA-NUNCULACEAE). American Journal of Botany, 87, 1128-1137. doi:10.2307/2656649

[16] Manfield, I.W., Pavlov, V.K., LI, J., Cook, H.E., Hummel, F. and Gilmartin, P.M. (2005) Molecular characterization of DNA sequences from the Primula vulgaris S-locus. Journal of Experimental Botany, 56, 1177-1188. doi:10.1093/jxb/eri110

[17] Saghai-Maroof, K., Soliman, M., Jorgensen, R.A. and Allard, R.W. (1984) Ribosomal DNA spacer-length polymorphisms in barley: Mendelian inhertance, chromosomal location, and population dynamics. Proceedings of the National Academy of Science of the United States of America, 81, 8014-8018.