RAPD and AFLP genetic markers for the characterisation of Osteospermum germplasm.

The level of genetic diversity was assayed within the accessions of three breeding groups in an Osteospermum collection. The NA-profiling via RAPD revealed high levels of polymorphism. enetic variation was highest in the English material, intermediate in the Italian and lowest in the Danish breeding group. The most requent similarity classes were 0.5-0.6 for the English, 0.6-0.7 for he Italian and 0.7-0.8 for the Danish group. Furthermore, an FLP analysis has been carried out on a sample of eight accessions representative of the three groups. Preliminary results indicate that AFLP analysis is suitable to give polymorphism in Osteospermum. RAPD and AFLP analysis can therefore be a useful tool for evaluating genetic diversity for breeding purposes, and for protecting intellectual property rights of new varieties.