Non-sex-linked, nuclear cleaved amplified polymorphic sequences in Silene latifolia

Cleaved amplified polymorphic sequences (CAPS) were identified for five nuclear genes in Silene latifolia. By using published cDNA sequences of S. latifolia, pairs of primers were designed to amplify small regions of six nuclear genes. Targeted regions were successfully amplified, two of which included introns. By using direct sequencing of diploid individuals, suitable polymorphic sites for CAPS markers were rapidly detected in five of six of these gene regions, thus avoiding the tedious screening of a large panel of restriction enzymes. Using controlled progenies, we have also shown that all these CAPS markers segregated independently of the sex phenotype, thus demonstrating that the genes analyzed here are not located in the nonrecombining region of the sex chromosomes.