High genetic diversity in gametophyte clones of Undaria pinnatifida from Vladivostok, Dalian and Qingdao revealed using microsatellite analysis

Breeding practice for Undaria pinnatifida (Harvey) Suringar requires the screening of a large number of offspring from gametophyte crossings to obtain an elite variety for large-scale cultivation. To better understand the genetic relationships of different gametophyte cultures isolated from different sources, 20 microsatellite loci were screened and 53 gametophyte clone cultures analyzed for U. pinnatifida isolated from wild sporophytes in Vladivostok, Russia and from cultivated sporophytes from Dalian and Qingdao, China. One locus was abandoned because of poor amplification. At the sex-linked locus of Up-AC-2A8, 3 alleles were detected in 25 female gametophyte clones, with sizes ranging from 307 to 316 bp. At other loci, 3 to 7 alleles were detected with an average of 4.5 alleles per locus. The average number of alleles at each locus was 1.3 and 3.7 for Russian and Chinese gametophyte clones, respectively. The average gene diversity for Russian, Chinese, and for the combined total of gametophyte clones was 0.1, 0.4, and 0.5, respectively. Russian gametophyte clones had unique alleles at 7 out of the 19 loci. In cluster analysis, Russian and Chinese gametophyte clones were separated into two different groups according to genetic distance. Overall, high genetic diversity was detected in gametophyte clones isolated from the two countries. These gametophyte cultures were believed to be appropriate parental materials for conducting breeding programs in the future.