Valutazione della variabilità genetica in germoplasma di carciofo con marcatori RAPD

A RAPD analysis was carried out on 21 artichoke accessions (Cynara cardunculus L. var. scolymus (L.) Fiori) obtained from the world germplasm collection held at the Germplasm Institute in Bari. Fifty decamer primers were used, of which 35 were screened on all accessions. A total of 218 bands were obtained. 25% of which were polymorphic. In order to evaluate genetic similarity, Jaccard index was calculated; its values were comprised between 0.852 and 0.995. Notwithstanding the high morphological diversity, a low genetic variation was detected in artichoke, even though, all the accessions could be distinguished based on RAPD analysis. A certain correspondence between these genetic data and morpho-productive observations was detected.