Efficiency of RAPD in assessing genetic variation in commercially viable local varieties of blueberry (<i>Vaccinium</i>)

Abstract

The growth in both production and plantation surface area of blueberries in Chile has been positive, with an estimated surface area of 13,057 hectares (16.9% planting surface) and production in the order of 56,000 tons (16.3% mundial production). Of all the different species of blueberry there are several varieties that have advantages with regard to certain conditions; for example, one variety adapts better to the climate of a particular area, while others are better for early or late harvests, they can also be resistant to fungus, bacteria, etc. Companies are very interested in this issue because prior knowledge of such data can bring financial benefits. Blueberries have a significant degree of morphological variation, which enables recognition of different clones with different environmental adaptation characteristics, but it also allows us to discriminate between different levels of fruit quality, which is of commercial interest. However, these morphological characteristics are late in their expression, making it impossible to recognize the clones in the early stage of their development. A more efficient tool to be able to recognize different clones is the use of molecular markers. Of the techniques based the RAPD (randomly amplified polymorphic DNA). They have the advantage that the method has no need for prior knowledge of the DNA sequence. It is of great interest to the private sector to have prior access to information on the types of clone they possess, in order to then be able to differentiate the varieties, but for this it is necessary to obtain a quick and economical technique. In this study, through the use of RAPD-PCR, it is possible to differentiate between different varieties of Vaccinium grown in Chile in order to then optimize blueberry production in terms of time and resources.