Plant Biotechnology
Electronic Journal of Biotechnology ISSN: 0717-3458 Vol. 11 No. 1, Issue of January 15, 2008
© 2008 by Pontificia Universidad Católica de Valparaíso -- Chile Received June 13, 2007 / Accepted September 25, 2007
DOI: 10.2225/vol11-issue1-fulltext-14
SHORT COMMUNICATION

Analysis of genetic diversity among Indian niger [Guizotia abyssinica (L. f.) Cass.] cultivars based on randomly amplified polymorphic DNA markers

Praveen Nagella
 Department of Botany
Karnatak University
Dharwad 580 003, India
Tel: 91 836 277 1154
Fax: 92 836 274 7884
E-mail: npraveen@yahoo.co.in

Niranjana Murthy Hosakatte
 Department of Botany
Karnatak University
Dharwad 580 003, India
Tel: 91 836 277 1154
Fax: 92 836 274 7884
E-mail: nmurthy60@hotmail.com

K.V. Ravishankar
 Biotechnology Division
Indian Institute of Horticultural Research
Hessaraghatta lake Post, Bangalore 580 089, India
Tel: 91 80 284 66420
Fax: 91 80 284 66291
E-mail: ravishankar@iihr.ernet.in

Eun-Joo Hahn
 Research Center for the Development of Advanced Horticultural Technology
Chungbuk National University
Cheongju 361-763, South Korea
Tel: 82 43 263 3245
Fax: 82 43 272 5369
E-mail: ejhahn@chungbuk.ac.kr

Kee-Yoeup Paek*
 Research Center for the Development of Advanced Horticultural Technology
Chungbuk National University
Cheongju 361-763, South Korea
Tel: 82 43 263 3245
Fax: 82 43 272 5369
E-mail: paekky@chungbuk.ac.kr

*Corresponding author

Financial support: This work is partially supported by Ministry of Education and Human Resources Development; the Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Energy; and the Ministry of Labor, Korean Science and Engineering Foundation, South Korea and Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, New Delhi, India.

Keywords: genetic diversity, Guizotia abyssinica, molecular markers, RAPD.

Abbreviations:

PCA: principal component analysis
PCR: polymerase chain reaction
RAPD: randomly amplified polymorphic DNA
Abstract   Full Text

Randomly amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) markers were used to estimate genetic diversity among 18 cultivars of niger from India. Total genomic DNA was extracted and subjected to RAPD analysis using 80 arbitrary 10-mer primers; 17 primers were selected, which yielded a total of 124 bands, 41.20% of them polymorphic. None of the primers produced unique banding pattern for each cultivar. RAPD data were used to calculate a Squared-Euclidean Distance matrix which revealed a minimum genetic distance between cultivars JNC-6 and N-48 and a maximum distance between IGP-76 and JN-30. Based on the distance matrix, a cluster analysis was done using a minimum variance algorithm. The dendrogram generated, based on Ward’s method, grouped 18 niger cultivars into two major clusters. The first cluster consisted of early maturing cultivars (e.g. N-129 and N-134; 80-90 days), and the second of late maturing cultivars (e.g. GA-8 and GA-9; 135-145 days). The present study shows that there is high diversity among the niger cultivars tested and indicates the potential of RAPD markers for identification and maintenance of niger germplasm for crop improvement purposes.
Supported by UNESCO / MIRCEN network