Allele Distribution at Locus WMS261Marking the Dwarfing Gene Rht8in Common Wheat Cultivars of Southern Ukraine

The use of codominant microsatellite molecular markers allows one to study the inheritance and distribution of alleles linked to important agronomic characters. A microsatellite locus WMS261tightly linked to a dwarfing geneRht8was analyzed in wheat cultivars and selection material of the Institute of Plant Breeding and Genetics. PCR screening of common wheat cultivars produced in the southern Ukraine showed the prevalence of a 192-bp allele at locus WMS261that indicates adaptive significance of a corresponding allele of the Rht8gene in the southern regions.