Plant Breeding International
Recently Plant Breeding International, funded by Ragu Foods Co., has initiated a program to identify and utilize molecular markers for fingerprinting and breeding purposes.
Extensive screening of a size-fractionated PstI library has identified, to date, fifteen clones that reveal polymorphisms among commercial cultivars. It has also confirmed other workers' findings of the very low levels of polymorphism within Lycopersicon esculentum. Coupled with the use of a genomic miniprep, these probes are already in use for screening hybrid seed lots to estimate the proportion of selfs.
These polymorphic clones are available to other research groups, academic and commercial, who are willing to reciprocate, e.g. through an exchange of probes or through access to interesting germplasm.