Application of inter simple sequence repeat (ISSR) polymorphism for detection of sex-specific molecular markers in hop (Humulus lupulus L.)

Hop (Humulus lupulus L.) is dioecious species with female plants of commercial value. During breeding process it is desirable to identify the sex of hop plants at the stage of seedling. Twenty two inter simple sequence repeat (ISSR) primers were screened on female and male hop genotypes of Russian and European origin. Two ISSR primers revealed fragments specific for male plants of hop. Based on the sequences two pairs of primers were designed. These male specific sequence tagged site (STS) markers were tested on male hop accessions of Russian origin and female hop accessions of Russian, European and American origin. A high homology of male specific hop DNA sequences to expressed sequences from EMBL plants EST database was found, most of which code cell wall glycoproteins. The applicability of ISSR-PCR analysis for development of sex molecular markers in hop is discussed.