Plant & Animal Genome VI Conference

P83

USE OF AFLP MARKERS TO ELUCIDATE THE ORIGIN OF FOXTAIL MILLET DOMESTICATION

Laboratoire "Evolution et systematique" , URA-CNRS 2154, Bat. 360, Universite Paris sud, 91405 Orsay cedex

Foxtail millet Setaria italica, belonging to the Poaceae family, is a major cereal crop in China. Its putative wild ancestor, green foxtail millet (S. viridis), is a common weed found in areas ranging from 45° South to 55° North. Domestication of foxtail millet is very ancient, according to the archeological data which show its presence in neolitic sites dating from 5000 years B.C. Two hypotheses concerning the origin of domestication have been proposed: a single center in China, or several centers localised in China, Europe and middle East. We used AFLP markers to assess the genetic relationships between S. italica and S. viridis. Using 4 primer combinations, we obtained 97 polymorphic AFLP bands on 68 accessions (43 of S. italica and 25 S. viridis) from several geographical origins. Using the dendrogram infered from the data, we discuss the possible origin of domestication of foxtail millet. This study is the first example of the use of AFLP markers on Setaria genus and demonstrates the usefulness of this technique for diversity studies in this gene pool.