Assessment of iPBS Primers Potential to Be Used in Genetic Diversity Studies of Wild Cloudberry (Rubus Chamaemorus L.) Populations

Inter-primer binding site (iPBS) molecular retrotransposon-based markers are a universal and simple tool to estimate genetic diversity. The goal of this study was to select highly informative iPBS primers to be used in studies of intraspecific genetic diversity of cloudberry (Rubus chamaemorus L.), a common plant species of the boreal zone, associated with raised bog habitats and transitional bogs. Initially, 75 iPBS primers were screened and three of the most informative primers (indicated by numbers 2298, 2277, and 2229) were selected based on the highest number of polymorphic bands and PIC (polymorphic information content) values. Electrophoretic analysis revealed 34 bands amplified with primer 2229, 25 bands with primer 2298, and 22 bands with primer 2277. The percentage of polymorphic loci ranged from 90.9 to 97.1% and PIC values ranged from 0.4885 to 0.4965, indicating potential of the selected primers to be applied in population genetic studies of R. chamaemorus.