Identification of RAPD marker linked to fruit skin color in Japanese pear (Pyrus pyrifolia Nakai)

In Japanese pear, fruit skin color is a very important trait for growers because the russet skin protects the fruit against external stress caused by disease, insects, bad weather, and shipping. This report describes the development of a randomly amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) marker linked to major genes controlling the fruit skin color in Japanese pear. Two F1 progenies from the cross of ‘Kousui’בKinchaku’ and ‘Niitaka’בChikusui’ segregated by fruit skin color were used for bulked segregant analysis. Four kinds of bulked DNA were constructed and used for the polymerase chain reaction in RAPD analysis. After 200 random primers were screened against four bulks, a band named OPH-19425 was selected in cooperation with green bulks. The recombination rate between OPH-19425 and the green skin phenotype was 7.3%. The RAPD marker (OPH-19425) could select green fruit with probability as high as approximately 92%. The marker was apparently useful for the selection of green-skinned individuals in a breeding program. This is the first report on developing a DNA marker closely linked to the fruit phenotype in Japanese pear.