Variability of a number of Pm gene sequences in representatives of Triticeae

Aim. Comparison of the sequences of selected resistance genes deposited in GenBank to find types of differences in their nucleotide composition and to determine the significance of these differences for primer design. Methods. Sequence searches were performed in the GenBank biological database. Comparison of different sequences of the same gene was carried out in DnaSP6 by calculating the Tajima test for Pm2, Pm3 and the Kolmogorov-Smirnov test in GeneDoc for Pm21. Multiple alignment was performed in CLUSTALW before using the specified programs. Primers were designed in Primer3. Results. Variability of the compared sequences is represented by nucleotide substitutions, insertions/deletions, the presence of a transposon in one of the Pm3 sequences. The regions coding for leucine-rich repeats are the most variable. The sequences isolated from Triticum dicoccoides have two such regions, within each of which some of the changes in the nucleotide sequence will be reflected in the amino acid composition of the proteins. Conclusions. The differences between the compared sequences of Pm2, Pm3, Pm21 (within each of the genes) are random (p < 0.05). According to the results of the sequences analysis, combinations of primers were developed for the identification of sequences characteristic to resistance genes on the available plant material.