Molecular Analysis of Chickpea (Cicer arietinum L) Cultivars Using AFLP and STMS Markers

Fifteen AFLP and eighteen STMS primer pairs were employed to reveal genetic diversity and relationship in twenty-one cultivars of chickpea (Cicer arietinum L). Fifteen AFLP primer pairs generated 1804 amplicons, out of which 1732 amplicons (96%) were polymorphic and 600 amplicons (∼33%) were genotype specific. Eighteen polymorphic STMS primer pairs generated 64 amplicons with an average of 3.55 amplicons per primer pair. Polymorphic information content (PIC) varied from 0.52 to 1.0 for STMS markers. The genetic similarity between cultivars varied from 0.30 to 0.85 for AFLP and 0.22 to 0.83 for STMS markers. Dendrogram constructed after combining both AFLP and STMS markers data with Bootstrap analysis, grouped all the cultivars into four clusters. Association of varietal type and flower colour was observed as cultivars E 100Ymu and Nabin (Both Desi type and pink flower) clustered together in the dendrogram.     

Genes tagging and molecular diversity of red rot susceptible/tolerant sugarcane hybrids using c-DNA and unigene derived markers

Sugarcane is an important international commodity as a valuable agricultural crop especially in tropical and subtropical countries. Two bulked DNA used to screen polymorphic primers from commercial hybrids (varieties) with moderately resistant and highly susceptible to red rot disease. Among 145 simple sequence repeat and unigene primers screened, 37 (25%) were found to be highly robust and polymorphic with Polymorphism Information Content values ranging from 0.50 to 1.00 with the mean value of 0.82. Among these microsatellites, twenty one were used in the study of genetic relationships and marker identification in sugarcane varieties for red rot resistance. A total of 105 polymorphic DNA bands were identified, with their fragment size ranging from 54 to 1,280 bp. Jaccard’s similarity coefficient value recorded between closely related hybrids was 0.986 while lowest coefficient value of 0.341 was detected with distantly related hybrids. The average similarity coefficient among these hybrids was 0.663. Cluster analysis resulted in a dendrogram with two major clusters separating the moderately resistant varieties from highly susceptible varieties. Three group specific fragments amplified by unigene Saccharum microsatellite primers viz; two markers UGSM316₈₅₀ and UGSM316₆₀ were closely associated with moderately resistant varieties by appearing bands in this region but the bands were absent in highly susceptible varieties. Similarly UGSM316₄₀₀ marker was tightly linked with highly susceptible varieties by amplifying uniformly in sugarcane varieties showing highly susceptible reaction to red rot but it was absent in moderately resistant varietal groups. Validation of red rot resistance/susceptibility associated markers on a group of different mapping populations for red rot resistant/susceptible traits is in progress.     

High-throughput retrotransposon-based genetic diversity of maize germplasm assessment and analysis

Maize is one of the world’s most important crops and a model for grass genome research. Long terminal repeat (LTR) retrotransposons comprise most of the maize genome; their ability to produce new copies makes them efficient high-throughput genetic markers. Inter-retrotransposon-amplified polymorphisms (IRAPs) were used to study the genetic diversity of maize germplasm. Five LTR retrotransposons (Huck, Tekay, Opie, Ji, and Grande) were chosen, based on their large number of copies in the maize genome, whereas polymerase chain reaction primers were designed based on consensus LTR sequences. The LTR primers showed high quality and reproducible DNA fingerprints, with a total of 677 bands including 392 polymorphic bands showing 58% polymorphism between maize hybrid lines. These markers were used to identify genetic similarities among all lines of maize. Analysis of genetic similarity was carried out based on polymorphic amplicon profiles and genetic similarity phylogeny analysis. This diversity was expected to display ecogeographical patterns of variation and local adaptation. The clustering method showed that the varieties were grouped into three clusters differing in ecogeographical origin. Each of these clusters comprised divergent hybrids with convergent characters. The clusters reflected the differences among maize hybrids and were in accordance with their pedigree. The IRAP technique is an efficient high-throughput genetic marker-generating method.

     

Genetic diversity analysis of Bt cotton genotypes in Pakistan using simple sequence repeat markers

The popularity of genetically modified insect resistant (Bt) cotton has promoted large scale monocultures, which is thought to worsen the problem of crop genetic homogeneity. Information on genetic diversity among Bt cotton varieties is lacking. We evaluated genetic divergence among 19 Bt cotton genotypes using simple sequence repeat (SSR) markers. Thirty-seven of 104 surveyed primers were found informative. Fifty-two primers selected on the basis of reported intra-hirsutum polymorphism in a cotton marker database showed a high degree of polymorphism, 56% compared to 13% for randomly selected primers. A total of 177 loci were amplified, with an average of 1.57 loci per primer, generating 38 markers. The amplicons ranged in size from 98 to 256 bp. The genetic similarities among the 19 genotypes ranged from 0.902 to 0.982, with an average of 0.947, revealing a lack of diversity. Similarities among genotypes from public sector organizations were higher than genotypes developed by private companies. Hybrids were found to be more distant compared to commercial cultivars and advanced breeding lines. Cluster analysis grouped the 19 Bt cotton genotypes into three major clusters and two independent entries. Cultivars IR-3701, Ali Akbar-802 and advanced breeding line VH-259 grouped in subcluster B2, with very narrow genetic distances despite dissimilar parentage. We found a very high level of similarity among Pakistani-bred Bt cotton varieties, which means that genetically diverse recurrent parents should be included to enhance genetic diversity. The intra-hirsutum polymorphic SSRs were found to be highly informative for molecular genetic diversity studies in these cotton varieties.     

Genetic Analysis of Indian Lentil (Lens culinaris Medikus) Cultivars and Landraces Using RAPD and STMS Markers

Molecular analysis of 29 lentil (Lens culinaris) cultivars and landraces of Indian origin was carried out using twenty RAPD and ten cross-species STMS primers. A total of 97 markers (72 RAPD and 25 STMS) were amplified of which 42.3% were polymorphic. Genetic similarity among the cultivars and landraces was 89.7%. The observed results indicated low level of genetic diversity in the studied material. UPGMA cluster analysis for the combined data of RAPD and STMS revealed two broad clusters — Cluster I with three landraces and Cluster II containing all remaining landraces and cultivars except Precoz. Germplasm line Precoz was found to be the most distinct in individual as well as combined analyses. All cultivars and landraces except K-75 and L4076 could be discriminated from one another using combined data for the two techniques. Germplasm lines Precoz, L830 and cultivars L4147 and JL3 were quite distinct and could be potential germplasm resource.     

Molecular characterization and genetic diversity analysis of soybean (Glycine max (L.) Merr.) germplasm accessions in India

Molecular characterization and genetic diversity among 82 soybean accessions was carried out by using 44 simple sequence repeat (SSR) markers. Of the 44 SSR markers used, 40 markers were found polymorphic among 82 soybean accessions. These 40 polymorphic markers produced a total of 119 alleles, of which five were unique alleles and four alleles were rare. The allele number for each SSR locus varied between two to four with an average of 2.97 alleles per marker. Polymorphic information content values of SSRs ranged from 0.101 to 0.742 with an average of 0.477. Jaccard’s similarity coefficient was employed to study the molecular diversity of 82 soybean accessions. The pairwise genetic similarity among 82 soybean accessions varied from 0.28 to 0.90. The dendrogram constructed based on genetic similarities among 82 soybean accessions identified three major clusters. The majority of genotypes including four improved cultivars were grouped in a single subcluster IIIa of cluster III, indicating high genetic resemblance among soybean germplasm collection in India.

Electronic supplementary material

The online version of this article (doi:10.1007/s12298-014-0266-y) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.     

基于ISSR标记的烤烟种质遗传多样性研究

利用ISSR标记分析了24份代表性烤烟种质的遗传多样性。从100个ISSR引物中筛选出10个引物,通过聚丙烯酰胺凝胶电泳可以检测到208条稳定的条带,片段大小介于200~2 400 bp之间,条带数在7~37条之间;扩增片段中多态性带141条,平均多态性比率(PPB)为67.79%。 通过UPGMA聚类分析,24个烤烟品种分为5类,最大一类有12个材料,主要衍生于Coker319。品种间遗传相似指数(GS)范围为0.66~0.85,表明其遗传多样性较低,需要拓宽烤烟种质的遗传基础。同时,利用2个多态性好的ISSR引物可以将这24份烤烟材料区分开,每个品种都有各自独特的指纹图谱,表明ISSR标记适于烟草品种鉴定和遗传多样性研究。     

广东甘蔗品种遗传多样性的AFLP分析

采用15对多态性较好的AFLP引物对广东育成的41个甘蔗品种的遗传多样性进行分析.结果表明:每对引物的多态性位点平均为61.5,多态性位点百分率为77.40%.41个甘蔗品种间的遗传相似系数为0.5210～0.9211,平均为0.6842,遗传多样性属中等水平.聚类分析把41个品种分为2大类,在系谱中亲缘关系密切的大多数品种,如粤农81-762与粤农85-1285和粤农86-295,粤糖57-423与粤糖85-5和粤糖85-177等都能分别聚在一起.但也有例外,如粤糖83-251和粤糖83-271,都是CP72-1210×华南56-12组合的后代,但没有归为同一类.遗传多样性指数分析显示,不同年代的品种多样性指数差异明显,最高是80年代,为0.3072,最低是60年代,为0.1162;不同单位选育的品种遗传多样性指数变化不大,为0.2756～0.3061.加强新种质利用是有效提高甘蔗品种遗传多样性的重要措施.     

Genetic diversity among varieties and wild species accessions of pea (Pisum sativum L.) based on molecular markers, and morphological and physiological characters.

Random amplified polymorphic DNA, simple sequence repeat, and inter-simple sequence repeat markers were used to estimate the genetic relations among 65 pea varieties (Pisum sativum L.) and 21 accessions from wild Pisum subspecies (subsp.) abyssinicum, asiaticum, elatius, transcaucasicum, and var. arvense. Fifty-one of these varieties are currently available for growers in western Canada. Nei and Li's genetic similarity (GS) estimates calculated using the marker data showed that pair-wise comparison values among the 65 varieties ranged from 0.34 to 1.00. GS analysis on varieties grouped according to their originating breeding programs demonstrated that different levels of diversity were maintained at different breeding programs. Unweighted pair-group method arithmetic average cluster analysis and principal coordinate analysis on the marker-based GS grouped the cultivated varieties separately from the wild accessions. The majority of the food and feed varieties were grouped separately from the silage and specialty varieties, regardless of the originating breeding programs. The analysis also revealed some genetically distinct varieties such as Croma, CDC Handel, 1096M-8, and CDC Acer. The relations among the cultivated varieties, as revealed by molecular-marker-based GS, were not significantly correlated with those based on the agronomic characters, suggesting that the 2 systems give different estimates of genetic relations among the varieties. However, on a smaller scale, a consistent subcluster of genotypes was identified on the basis of agronomic characters and their marker-based GS. Furthermore, a number of variety-specific markers were identified in the current study, which could be useful for variety identification. Breeding strategies to maintain or enhance the genetic diversity of future varieties are proposed.     

Genetic diversity in basmati rice (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Oryza sativa</Emphasis> L.) germplasm as revealed by microsatellite (SSR) markers

Genetic diversity among rice genotypes, including 15 indica basmati advance lines and 5 basmati improved varieties were investigated by 28 SSR markers including one indel marker. The SSRs covered all the 12 chromosomes that distributed across the rice genomes. The mean number of alleles per locus was 3.60, showing average number of polymorphism information content was 0.48. A total of 101 alleles were also identified from the microsatellite marker loci. A number of SSR markers were also identified that could be utilized to differentiate between rice genotypes. Pair wise Nei’s genetic distance between rice genotypes ranged from 0.07 to 0.95. The dendrogram based on cluster analysis by using SSR polymorphism that grouped the 20 genotypes of rice in to five clusters based on their genetic similarity. The result could be useful for the identification and selection of the diverse genotypes for the future cross breeding program and development of new rice varieties.     

Molecular Assessment of Diversity among Pathotypes of Colletotrichum falcatum Prevalent in Sub-Tropical Indian Sugarcane

Summary Six pathotypes of Colletotrichum falcatum, responsible for Red-rot in sugarcane, prevalent in subtropical India were examined for genetic relationships using RAPD markers. A high degree of polymorphism (78.6%) was observed using 40 RAPD markers. More than 50% genetic divergence was found among the pathotypes and UPGMA cluster analysis of genetic similarity indices grouped the six pathotypes into two clusters. Cluster I comprised pathotypes Cf01 and Cf09, while cluster II comprised the remaining four pathotypes. Cf02 and Cf08 were the most closely related among all the pathotypes. Pathotype-specific unique bands generated in RAPD profiling are being used for developing markers for pathotype identification in diseased cane samples.     

Isolation and characterization of sequence‐tagged microsatellite sites markers in chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.)

In this study we report the isolation of microsatellite sequences and their conversion to sequence‐tagged microsatellite sites (STMS) markers in chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.). Thirteen putative recombinants isolated from a chickpea genomic library were sequenced, and used to design 10 STMS primer pairs. These were utilized to analyse the genetic polymorphism in 15 C. arietinum varieties and two wild varieties, C. echinospermum and C. reticulatum. All the primer pairs amplified polymorphic loci ranging from four to seven alleles per locus. The observed heterozygosity ranged from 0 to 0.6667. Most of the STMS markers also amplified corresponding loci in the wild relatives suggesting conservation of these markers in the genus. Hence, these polymorphic markers will be useful for the evaluation of genetic diversity and molecular mapping in chickpea.     

Evaluation of genetic diversity in jackfruit (Artocarpus heterophyllus Lam.) based on amplified fragment length polymorphism markers

Artocarpus heterophyllus Lam., commonly called jackfruit, is a medium-sized evergreen tree that bears high yields of the largest known edible fruit. Yet, it has been little explored commercially due to wide variation in fruit quality. The genetic diversity and genetic relatedness of 50 jackfruit accessions were studied using amplified fragment length polymorphism markers. Of 16 primer pairs evaluated, eight were selected for screening of genotypes based on the number and quality of polymorphic fragments produced. These primer combinations produced 5976 bands, 1267 (22%) of which were polymorphic. Among the jackfruit accessions, the similarity coefficient ranged from 0.137 to 0.978; the accessions also shared a large number of monomorphic fragments (78%). Cluster analysis and principal component analysis grouped all jackfruit genotypes into three major clusters. Cluster I included the genotypes grown in a jackfruit region of Karnataka, called Tamaka, with very dry conditions; cluster II contained the genotypes collected from locations having medium to heavy rainfall in Karnataka; cluster III grouped the genotypes in distant locations with different environmental conditions. Strong coincidence of these amplified fragment length polymorphism-based groupings with geographical localities as well as morphological characters was observed. We found moderate genetic diversity in these jackfruit accessions. This information should be useful for tree breeding programs, as part of our effort to popularize jackfruit as a commercial crop.     

Molecular Identification and Genetic Diversity Analysis of Chinese Sugarcane (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Saccharum</Emphasis> spp. Hybrids) Varieties using SSR Markers

Sugarcane (Saccharum spp. hybrids) is an important sugar and renewable bio-energy crop with a high aneu-polyploidy and complex genome. The complex characteristics of sugarcane genome enhance the difficulty of selecting elite varieties in sugarcane breeding program. The objectives of this study were to establish the molecular identities (ID) of 91 nationally or provincially released Chinese sugarcane varieties and to evaluate the extent of genetic diversity among these varieties using SSR DNA markers and two fingerprinting systems, i.e., capillary electrophoresis (CE) and polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (PAGE). A total of 151 SSR alleles together with 20 new alleles were detected by CE and 117 SSR alleles were detected by PAGE. Primer pairs SMC336BS, SMC31CUQ, and SMC597CS amplified more than eight alleles detectable by either CE or PAGE. Polymorphism information content (PIC) values of the SSR markers varied from 0.71-0.98 with an average of 0.90 for CE, or from 0.55-0.95 with an average of 0.84 for PAGE. UPGMA method classified the 91 varieties based on the CE data into four major groups with pair-wise similarity coefficients ranging from 58% to 95%. The genetic similarity estimates within and between the four groups varied from 0.31 to 0.87, with a mean of 0.49. Our results illustrated that the 21 SSR primer pairs in combination with CE or PAGE detection system could be a very useful working tool for molecular identification of sugarcane varieties, genetic diversity assessment, and parental selection in sugarcane breeding.     

Diversification of indigenous gene- pool by using exotic germplasm in lentil (Lens culinaris Medikus subsp. culinaris)

Genetic diversity was studied among 21 accessions of lentil using SSR markers and morphological traits in order to assess the diversification of Indian gene-pool of lentil through introgression of exotic genes and introduction of germplasm. Among these , 16 genotypes either had ‘Precoz’ gene, an Argentine line in their pedigree or genes from introduced lines from ICARDA. Sixty five SSR markers and eight phenotypic traits were used to analyse the level of genetic diversity in these genotypes. Forty three SSR markers (66 %) were polymorphic and generated a total of 177 alleles with an average of 4.1 alleles per SSR marker. Alleles per marker ranged from 2 to 6. The polymorphic information content ranged 0.33 to 0.80 with an average of 0.57, suggesting that SSR markers are highly polymorphic among the studied genotypes. Genetic dissimilarity based a dendrogram grouped these accessions into two main clusters (cluster I and cluster II) and it ranged 33 % to 71 %, suggesting high level of genetic diversity among the genotypes. First three components of PCA based morphological traits explained higher variance (95.6 %) compared to PCA components based on SSR markers (42.7 %) of total genetic variance. Thus, more diversity was observed for morphological traits and genotypes in each cluster and sub-cluster showed a range of variability for seed size, earliness, pods/plant and plant height. Molecular and phenotypic diversity analysis thus suggested that use of germplasm of exotic lines have diversified the genetic base of lentil germplasm in India. This diversified gene-pool will be very useful in the development of improved varieties of lentil in order to address the effect of climate change, to adapt in new cropping systems niches such as mixed cropping, relay cropping, etc. and to meet consumers’ preference.     

Genetic diversity in basmati rice (Oryza sativa L.) germplasm as revealed by microsatellite (SSR) markers

Genetic diversity among rice genotypes, including 15 indica basmati advance lines and 5 basmati improved varieties were investigated by 28 SSR markets including one indel marker. The SSRs covered all the 12 chromosomes that distributed across the rice genomes. The mean number of alleles per locus was 3.60, showing average number of polymorphism information content was 0.48. A total of 101 alleles were also identified from the microsatellite marker loci. A number of SSR markers were also identified that could be utilized to differentiate between rice genotypes. Pair wise Nei,s genetic distance between rice genotypes ranged from 0.07 to 0.95. The dendrogram based on cluster analysis by using SSR polymorphism that grouped the 20 genotypes of rice in to five clusters based on their genetic similarity. The result could be useful for the identification and selection of the diverse genotypes for the future cross breeding program and development of new rice varieties.     

Single-Strand Conformational Polymorphism of EST-SSRs: A Potential Tool for Diversity Analysis and Varietal Identification in Sugarcane

Sugarcane (Saccharum spp.) has a large complex polyploid genome. Assay of molecular variation in the expressed component of its genome has relevance to the analysis of genetic diversity, variety identification and introgression of agronomically useful genes present in different members of the Saccharum complex. The present study was designed to evaluate single-strand conformational polymorphism (SSCP) as a potential tool to detect genetic variation in the expressed sequence tag (EST) derived microsatellites. Twenty primer pairs obtained from EST libraries and one designed from soluble acid invertase gene sequence were used to characterise 21 clones belonging to four different Saccharum species and 22 sugarcane varieties/genotypes. All the markers, including the two, which were reported monomorphic even at the interspecific level in an automated fragment analysis system in a previous study, could be successfully converted into polymorphic ones using SSCP analysis. A broad range of variation could be revealed by this technique. The Saccharum spp. clones could be grouped into distinct clusters, confirming the species relationships postulated earlier using morphological, biochemical and molecular methods. The polymorphic markers could also differentiate all the 22 sugarcane varieties from each other. This is a first report that demonstrates the usefulness of SSCP technique, in obtaining polymorphic microsatellite markers developed from EST sequences for various genetic and breeding applications, in this polyploid species.     

Evaluation of maize microsatellite markers for genetic diversity analysis and fingerprinting in sugarcane.

The use of maize microsatellite markers as a potential cost-effective method for molecular analysis of sugarcane was evaluated. Of the 34 primer pairs obtained from maize genomic libraries, 14 showed repeatable amplifications in Saccharum species clones, commercial hybrids, and the related genera Erianthus, accounting for 41.17% cross transferability. Complex banding patterns were encountered in sugarcane with the number of amplified fragments ranging from 7 to 14 with an average of 10 per primer, indicating the high polyploidy and heterozygosity existing in sugarcane. Phenetic analysis of the SSR polymorphisms produced by nine primers could clearly differentiate the different species of Saccharum and Erianthus and revealed the relationships that existed between them. Genetic similarity co-efficient indicated low diversity existing among the S. officinarum clones (82%) and a relatively higher level of diversity in the S. spontaneum clones (69.7%). Higher level of divergence of Erianthus from Saccharum was also clearly estabilished. Five primers produced genus- and species-specific fragments for Erianthus, S. spontaneum, S. officinarum, and S. barberi. The polymorphic primers, when tested on a panel of 30 commercial sugarcane cultivars, revealed a broad range (32.4-83.3%) of pair-wise similarity values, indicating their ability to detect high levels of polymorphism. A combination of two primers could differentiate all the varieties, further emphasizing their potential in fingerprinting and varietal identification.     

RAPD Analysis of Genetic Diversity in Indian Land Races of Rice (Oryza sativa L)

The study aims at determining genetic diversity in a set of land races in comparison to a representative sample of improved rice Varieties, using random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD). Analysis of 36 accessions using 10 arbitrary decamer random primers, revealed 97.1 6% polymorphism. Similarity values among the land races ranged from 0.58 to 0.89 indicating wide diversity.The extent of diversity of the accessions was assessed using heterozygosity arithmetic mean value in land races (0.71) and cultivars (0.54). Marker Index (MI) revealed higher values in land races (120.83) than improved varieties (51.74).The land races and improved varieties formed separate clusters at 0.65 similarity suggesting that genetically distant land races could be potentially valuable sources for enlarging and enriching the genepool of improved varieties.