Simplified AFLP procedure as a tool for identification of strawberry cultivars and advanced breeding lines

DNA polymorphisms among 6 cultivars of Fragaria x ananassa (Duch.) and 13 salinity tolerant clones were evaluated using simplified - PstI based Amplified Fragment Length Polymorphism procedure ((PstI)AFLP). Out of 129 amplification products obtained with 10 selective primers, 116 markers were polymorphic and could be used to distinguish all analyzed materials. Coordinate and cluster analyses revealed 2 main groups of clones and divided strawberry cultivars (CUL) and tested F-1 hybrids of `Sweet Heart' (HYB). Mean genetic similarities in groups of cultivars and selected breeding lines (SEL) were significantly higher (0.722 and 0.706, respectively, p < 0.05) than in group of SH hybrids (0.485). Results suggest that (P)stIAFLP method is sufficient for effective identification and useful for assessing the level of genetic diversity in strawberry cultivars and breeding lines. The presented method can be an alternative multilocus marker system to widespread RAPD method.