Dna Markers For Potato Introgression Breeding

To develop breeder-friendly sequence characterized amplified region (SCAR) markers characteristic of particular Solanum species and workable as tools for introgression breeding, we compared several polymorphic regions of Solanum genomes, such as repetitive sequences identical in the genomes of wild Solanum species and derived potato cultivars, the characteristic fragments of the genes for potato Late blight resistance (R genes) and the hot spot of variation in intron 2 of the developmental gene FLORICAULA/LEAFY. Multiple alignments of these sequences became the basis for designing the species-specific PCR primers. The specificity of SCAR markers amplified with these primers was verified against the accessions of several Solanum species. The markers reliably discerned the germplasm of wild Solanum species in potato cultivars and were feasible for monitoring the transfer of such germplasm into potato cultivars. The presence of SCAR markers derived from the R genes was associated with the foliage and tuber resistance of potato cultivars to Late blight; it follows that such markers are potential predictors of these phenotypic traits in new potato crosses.