Genetic distance and diversity in table beet and sugar beet accessions measured by randomly amplified polymorphic DNA

Abstract

Genetic relationships among 37 accessions of Beta vulgaris, including 21 table beet, 14 sugar beet, and two Swiss chard (Beta vulgaris ssp. cicla) accessions, were evaluated using randomly amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD). Genetic distance was estimated based on the presence or absence of polymorphic RAPD bands. Multidimensional scaling plots of genetic distance values revealed that table beet inbred lines from the University of Wisconsin Table beet Breeding Program clustered in an intermediate position between sugar beet breeding lines and standard table beet germplasm, likely because of their origin from an introgression program designed to incorporate sugar beet genes.