AN EXAMINATION OF THE ABILITY OF RAPD MARKERS TO DETERMINE THE RELATIONSHIPS WITHIN AND BETWEEN RUBUS SPECIES

RAPD markers were generated from 13 different Rubus species in order to assess the degree of similarity between species from the important subgenera. All ten primers revealed scorable polymorphisms within both the closely related and the genetically diverse individuals. Three hundred and seventy-two markers were generated and scored from the material analysed. Estimates of similarity, dendrograms and principle co-ordinate analysis were calculated, with the results generally being in agreement with previous classifications of the species studied, confirming the validity and usefulness of the RAPD method. However, amongst the species studied, R. macraei of the Idaeobats proved more diverse and grouped in with both the Idaeobats and Eubats at only 26% similarity.