Proceedings of the XLVI Italian Society of Agricultural Genetics - SIGA Annual Congress

Giardini Naxos, Italy - 18/21 September, 2002

ISBN 88-900622-3-1

Poster Abstract - 4.27

RFLP MARKERS TO IDENTIFY BERMUDAGRASS (CYNODON DACTYLON) CULTIVAR

BUSTI A., MOLINARI L., RUBINI A., PUPILLI F.

Istituto di Ricerche sul Miglioramento Genetico delle Piante Foraggere, Via della Madonna Alta 130, Perugia, Italy

Cynodon Dactylon, cultivar identification, RFLP, turfgrass

The italian market of turfgrass seeds is in expansion because of the raising interest in the establishment of lawns for sport, amenity and environmental care. To limit costs and to obtain persistent turfgrass, it is necessary to use varieties adapted to the Italian environment. The IRMGPF-CNR of Perugia is involved in cultivar identification of some turfgrasses with RFLP molecular markers in the frame of the project “Inerbimenti e tappeti erbosi per la valorizzazione agricola, ricreativa e sportiva del territorio” of MiPaF. Among the species under study we report here some data regarding Bermudagrass (Cynodon dactylon), a species well adapted to the Mediterranean environment. Nine commercial varieties of C. dactylon, have been analysed together with one hybrid (Cynodon dactylon x Cynodon transvalensis) used as control. Two independent bulks of the DNA extraction from 100 plants were prepared for each seed lot and hybridized with 42 rice probes of known map position together with two oat probes. Seven probes were able to distinguish 6 varieties on the basis of the presence of cultivar-specific bands; the others cultivars were differentiated on the basis of a combination of bands. Polymorphisms between bulks of the same cultivar were not found confirming that 100 plants is a suitable and reproducible bulk size for cultivar identification of seed-propagated outcrossing crops. The results give the opportunity of developing a method for seed certification of cultivars of C.dactylon based on molecular markers.