Genetic diversity of plums characterized by random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) analysis

We investigated the genetic diversity of 42 plum varieties by RAPD analysis. Twenty primers discriminated all plum varieties excepting two synonymous pairs: 'Botankyou and ‘Kelsey’, and ‘Chairn’ and ‘Tragedy’. Two North American plums, ‘Beach Plum’ and ‘Glow’, were genetically distinct from the other plums by cluster analysis. Overlaps observed between the ‘European plum group’ and the ‘Japanese plum group’, were perhaps due to intercrossing. We could also discriminate ‘Sordum’ from 'Late Sordum and ‘Bansei Sordum’, although ‘Late Sordum’ and ‘Bansei Sordum’ are thought to be derived from bud mutants of ‘Sordum’.