Genetic fingerprinting for the differentiation of two perspective forms of Echinacea purpurea (L.) Moench on the basis of RAPD markers

Abstract

Echinacea purpurea (L.) Moench is a valuable medicinal plant, commercially important resource of herbal phytopharmaceutical substances and natural product preparations and ornamental culture. RAPD technology for the differentiation of the two valuable cultivars of Echinacea purpurea ‘Mustang’ and ‘Elegia’, breed recently in the Central botanical gardens of NAS of Belarus, has been applied. Five random primers (OPA–05, OPC–02, OPD–08, OPG–08 and OPX–08) generated 55 discrete markers, ranging from 100 to 1640 bp in size. Thirty five of these were polymorphic for investigated cultivars (63,6 %), with an average of 7 markers per primer. Among this there were revealed cultivar-specific amplification products – 20 unique primers for cultivar ‘Elegia’ and 15 – for cultivar ‘Mustang’. The degree of genetic similarity calculated by Nei and Li formula was 0,533, by Jaccard’s formula – 0,382. Developed RAPD markers make possible further genetic fingerprinting of the collection of perspective forms of Echinacea purpurea of Central botanical gardens of NAS of Belarus.