Identification and classification of celery cultivars with RAPD markers

Twenty-one celery (Apium graveolens L. var. dulce) cultivars, one celeriac (var. rapaceum) and one annual smallage (var. secalinum) cultivar were screened for polymorphic RAPD (Random Amplified Polymorphic DNA) markers with 28 arbitrary 10-mer primers. Among a total of 309 bands observed, 29 (9.3%) were polymorphic in the 23 cultivars screened, but only 19 (6.1%) markers were polymorphic within the 21 type dulce cultivars. These markers were sufficient to distinguish each of the cultivars used. The average marker difference was 6.4 between two celery cultivars, 16.7 between celery and annual smallage, 14.7 between celery and celeriac, and 12.0 between annual smallage and celeriac. The celery cultivars surveyed were classified into three groups based on the marker differences. The relationship among the dulce-type cultivars concluded from this research is basically consistent with the known lineage of the cultivars and the previous study using stem protein and isozyme markers. RAPD technology provides a new alternative for cultivar identification and classification in celery.