RAPD analysis of genetic variability of regenerated seeds in the Canadian flax cultivar CDC Normandy

Genetic variability of the original breeder seeds and twice regenerated seeds of the Canadian flax cultivar CDC Normandy was analyzed using RAPD markers. It was found that two (out of 98) RAPD loci derived from 16 informative UBC RAPD primers were polymorphic, confirming a narrow genetic variation for CDC Normandy. No off-types from the other flax accessions being simultaneously regenerated were found in the 48-seed sample of the 1998 regeneration, but one off-type in the 1999 regeneration was revealed at seven fixed recessive RAPD loci. The G-statistics calculated for the change in genotypic frequencies at two polymorphic RAPD loci over the two regeneration cycles were not statistically significant at the 0.05 level, suggesting no significant genetic change occurred in the regenerated accessions. These findings have practical implications for flax germplasm management, breeding program and commercial seed production.