Clonal selection and molecular characterisation by RAPD analysis of the fig (Ficus carica L.) "Dottato" and "Bianco del Cilento" cultivars in Italy

In Italy the more largely widespread fig cultivars are "Bianco del Cilento" and "Dottato", which are particularly suitable for fresh fruit, drying and syrup production. The areas of Salerno (Campania Region) and Cosenza (Calabria Region) are the most important ones in Italy for the production of "Bianco del Cilento" and "Dottato" figs, respectively. Phenotypic studies, based on carpological cards, have characterised only partially the cultivar-populations of the two areas. On the other side within each area an in depth analysis performed in situ on some clones evidenced that some of them have excellent production features. In order to differentiate the two populations and their clones with a simple and safe method we performed the molecular markers analysis on "Bianco del Cilento" and "Dottato" clones. The selected technique, known as RAPD (Random Amplified Polymorphic DNA) analysis does not require information about the biochemistry and molecular biology of the organism under investigation, while for other techniques these data must be known a priori. This study shows the results obtained by the comparison of molecular and carpological data for the first time on "Dottato" and "Bianco del Cilento" fig cultivars.