Genetic diversity among 20 Iranian barley cultivars (Hordeum vulgare L.) WS investigated using RAPD markers. 950 RAPD fragments were generated using 33 single decameric primers of arbitrary nucleotide sequence. Amplification reactions resulted in fragment ranging in length from 300 to 3000 bps. Clearly resolved bands were scored for the presence or absence in a binary matrix. This matrix was used to calculate a distance matrix based on Nei’s similarity coefficient. Amplified products were treated as independent characters to generate a phenogram using cluster analysis. Cultivars were classified in 6 groups. X2 analysis showed that, there were differences between varieties and primers regarding band generation. The generation of polymorphic band in barley cultivars was successful, and suggested that RAPD marker is suited to study DNA polymorphism in barley.
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