Potato cultivars identification using molecular markers

Cultivar identification becomes determinant for potato breeders. The increasing number of potato cultivars and the importance of their choice make necessary to strengthen user's guarantees concerning purity and identity. Today, identification mainly based on phenotypic characters implies culture inspection at different stages and is often doubtful. RAPD (Random Amplified Polymorphic DNA) and ISSR (Inter Simple Sequence Repeat) molecular markers are considered to produce genetic fingerprints for a reliable and rapid cultivar identification. 37 cultivars are chosen to represent the total variability of the French catalogue. The use of 3 RAPD primers allows their molecular identification. However, ISSR amplification appear to be more polymorphic and reliable than RAPD.