Identification of Taxa in the Genus shape Beta using ITS1 Sequence Information

Sequence variation in the ITS1 locus of the nuclear ribosomal DNA in beets has previously been used to reconstruct phylogeny of the species in the genus Beta. We have developed protocols that allow the identification of Beta taxa by use of taxon-specific primers. Beta sections, species and subspecies can be identified. Differences within the ITS1 region of a single base can be exploited for species identification. The results from this study not only provide effective methods for wild beet identification, but also indicate the potential use of the techniques in other crops.