Identification and characterisation of sugarcane intergeneric hybrids, Saccharum officinarum x Erianthus arundinaceus, with molecular markers and DNA in situ hybridisation

Abstract

Molecular markers were used to characterise sugarcane intergeneric hybrids between S. officinarum and E. arundinaceus. Very simple diagnostic tools for hybrid identification among the progeny were derived from isozyme electrophoresis and a sequence-tagged PCR. Two enzyme systems (GOT and MDH B) and PCR amplification revealing spacer-size variation in the 5 s-rDNA cluster were found most convenient. Specific characterisation of the two genomic components was possible using RFLP and in situ hybridisation. The strong molecular differentiation between S. officinarum and E. arundinaceus allows the identification of numerous Erianthus-specific RFLP bands in the hybrids. Genomic DNA in situ hybridi..