The genetic diversity of barley cultivars from the Baltic states and Belarus, as determined by RAMPs

A Random Amplified Microsatellite Polymorphism (RAMP) analysis was carried out on 30 barley cultivars from the Baltic States and Belarus. Seven primer combinations produced 60 polymorphic DNA fragments ranging in size from 54 b to 400 b. A Genetic Distance coefficient (GDxy) matrix was generated and a dendrogram constructed using cluster analysis of the unweighted pair-group method of arithmetic averages (UPGMA). The genetic distance between cultivars ranged from 0.067 to 0.714. The results were compared with available pedigree information. The dendrogram did not indicate any clear pattern of division among the barley cultivars based on geographic origin.