GENETIC DIVERSITY OF JAPANESE WILD EVERGREEN AZALEAS IN KYUSHU (SOUTH MAIN ISLAND OF JAPAN) CHARACTERIZED BY AFLP

The genetic diversity of wild evergreen azaleas in Kyushu, the south main island of Japan, was characterized with amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP). Kyushu is an important genetic resource center for breeding of the Japanese evergreen azalea cultivars. Rhododendron kiusianum Makino growing above 1000m alt. on the volcanic mountains and R. kaempferi Planch. distributed below 600m alt. are the most important wild species in Kyushu. Putative natural hybrid populations of these two species are found in the intermediate region. AFLP analysis has revealed the genetic variation within and among these populations. Some species specific bands were detected in R. kiusianum and R. kaempferi, and the genetic constitution of each population was identified by AFLP polymorphisms. Abbreviations AFLP: Amplified Fragment Length Polymorphism, PCR: Polymerase Chain Reaction, RFLP: Restriction Fragment Length Polymorphism