Studying plant genome variation using molecular markers.

The authors' studies on the organization and variation of plant genome with the use of molecular markers are briefly reviewed with special emphasis on random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD), inter simple sequence repeat (ISSR), sequence characterized amplified region (SCAR), and cleaved amplified polymorphic sequence (CAPS) markers detected with the use of polymerase chain reaction (PCR). These markers have been demonstrated to be promising for identifying cultivars and determining the purity of genetic strains of pea. Genetic relationships between strains, cultivars, and mutants of pea have been studied. The role of molecular markers in molecular genetic mapping and localizing the genes of commercially important characters of pea has been shown. The possibility of the use of molecular markers for studying somaclonal variation and detecting mutagenic factors in plants during long-term spaceflights is considered. The prospects of using DNA markers for understanding the organization and variability of higher plant genomes are discussed.