Utilization of iPBS Markers for Ambrosia artemisifolia L.

Ambrosia artemisifolia L. is a wild plant native to North America. It was introduced to Europe in the 19th century. It causes damage in agriculture by reducing the quantity and quality of production as well as respiratory problems and allergic reactions in humans. In Slovakia, the occurrence of ragweed was first recorded at the monitoring station in Žilina. It is widespread mainly in southern Slovakia. In this study, 37 samples of adult plants of ragweed collected from three localities in southern Slovakia, namely Balvany, Veľký Horeš and Malá nad Hronom were used. Up-to date only a few molecular data are available for Ambrosia artemisifolia L. genome, thus the aim of the study was the analysis of genetic variability and inter-retrotransposon based polymorphism in the set of studied ecotypes. Using the iPBS 1880 primer, the total number of amplified fragments was 136 with sizes ranging from 110 to 1315 bp. For the iPBS 2079 primer, the total number of amplified fragments was 108 with sizes ranging from 159 to 888 bp. Using the iPBS primer 2274, 114 fragments were produced with sizes ranging from 270 to 1467 bp. Based on constructed dendrograms, the marker 1880 provided the most distinctive profiles that separated the most of the analysed ragweed ecotypes.