Characterization of Lactuca spp. germplasm by protein and molecular markers - a review

The genus Lactuca L. belongs to one of the largest plant families, Asteraceae. Lactuca L. is represented by ca 100 species distributed in different geographical areas and ecological conditions. This is one of the reasons why this genus is characterised by very broad variation of different characters. Electrophoretic detection of some proteins (isozymes) has been applied to the study of genetic variability of Lactuca spp. individuals and populations. The development of molecular genetic methods (RFLP, Restriction Fragment Length Polymorphism; PCR methods: RAPD, Random Amplified Polymorphic DNA; AFLP, Amplified Fragment Length Polymorphism; minisatellites and microsatellites fingerprinting or SSR, Simple Sequence Repeats) and their application has contributed to the elucidation of various aspects related to the taxonomy, variability, biodiversity, genetics and breeding within the genus Lactuca L. Further potential application of these methods is discussed.