Plants of Cynodon arcuatus J.S. Presl & C.B. Presl accessions often are morphologically uniform in appearance suggesting either inbreeding or apomictic reproduction. Past research indicated C. arcuatus to be genetically isolated from other Cynodon species based on failed hybridization attempts. This study was conducted to characterize the genetic relatedness of 30 morphologically uniform full sib plants of C. arcuatus accession A10106 (PI 289613) using DNA amplification fingerprinting (DAF). Four nonspecific DAF primers and four mini-hairpin primers failed to detect any polymorphism among the 30 progeny plants. The genetic and morphological uniformity among the progeny plants suggests either the species strongly inbred or are reproducing by gametophytic apomixis. Efforts to determine which mechanism is operative are currently in progress.
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