SSAP Markers Based on a Novel Ty1-copia Like Element Are a Powerful Tool for the Assessment of Genetic Diversity in Rye (Secale cereale L.) Inbred Lines

A partial sequence of a Ty1-copia retrotransposon was isolated from the genome of the rye (Secale cereale L.) inbred line L318 using degenerate primers targeted at the RNaseH sequence. Its putative 3'LTR region exhibited similarity to LTRs of known plant retrotransposons such as BARE-1, while no significant similarity to known rye retrotransposon sequences was found. A Sequence Specific Amplification Polymorphism (SSAP) protocol employing primer designed to correspond to the putative polypurine tract was developed and used for analysis of 30 rye inbred lines. Values of the parameters calculated to evaluate the efficiency of the method as well as the results of cluster analysis demonstrate that it is a powerful tool for genetic diversity analyses of rye.