Polymorphism of microsatellite marker REMS1218 in rye <i>Secale cereale</i> L. specimens from the Peterhof genetic collection and the varietal population Grafinya

BACKGROUND: Short stemness is an important trait for rye; most varieties of winter rye carry the dominant short stemness gene Ddw1. A simple way to assess the diversity of the chromosome region in which the Ddw1 gene is localized is to use the REMS1218 microsatellite marker. AIM: The aim of the work is to study the polymorphism of the REMS1218 marker in six short-stemmed accessions from the Peterhof genetic collection of rye and rye plants of the Grafinya varietal population. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Six accessions of winter rye homozygous for alleles of several genes for short stemness/dwarfism and a medium-tall varietal population of winter rye Grafinya were studied. The REMS1218 microsatellite marker polymorphism was studied using fragment analysis. RESULTS: The 318 bp fragment of the REMS1218 marker is predominant in the short-stemmed accessions from the collection, regardless of the presence of the Ddw1 gene; significant polymorphism for the REMS1218 marker was shown in the varietal population Grafinya. Principal component analysis using measured vegetative traits and grain parameters of 79 plants of the varietal population Grafinya demonstrated the absence of clustering for the four dominant REMS1218 profile types for these components. CONCLUSIONS: The microsatellite marker REMS1218 can be used to characterize individual plants of a varietal population, to separate heterogeneous populations into subgroups with a similar profile for subsequent analysis of the progeny of the selected families according to the selected traits (plant height, productivity).