Identification of selected apricot cultivars using RAPD and EST-SSR markers

Random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) and expressed sequence tags-simple sequence repeats (EST-SSR) are useful for cultivar identification. In this study, we applied a new approach using RAPD fingerprints to distinguish 34 apricot cultivars based on the optimization of RAPD by choosing 11-nucleotide (nt) primers and strict screening PCR annealing temperature. We further compared the discriminating ability of EST-SSR markers using the same number of primer pairs. The results showed that this new approach can clearly utilize and record the fingerprints generated from various RAPD primers during cultivar identification, and a cultivar identification diagram (CID) could be constructed. The CID approach can be used for efficient identification of apricot cultivars, providing information to separate groups of cultivars. The reliability and efficiency of this method was checked and verified. Five RAPD primers clearly distinguished 34 apricot cultivars, but five EST-SSR primer pairs could only identify 14 cultivars. To the best of our knowledge, this new approach is the most efficient and reliable method for identification of plant varieties by RAPD or EST-SSR markers, and will be very helpful in identification of plant cultivars, for cultivar rights protection and will also be beneficial in the nursery industry due to early identification of seedlings.