Comparative study of the discriminating capacity of AFLP and ISTR markers for genetic analysis ofAgave fourcroydes

Two DNA-based marker systems, amplified fragment legnth polymorphism (AFLP) and inverse sequence-tagged repeat (ISTR), were evaluated with respect to their discriminating capacity and efficiency in genetically analyzing henequen (Agave fourcroydes). Samples were taken from a mother plant, sucker-derived daughter plants, and bulbils. ISTR analysis produced more polymorphic markers than AFLP and had a better capacity for quantifying genetic diversity through an average number of alleles per locus, expected heterozygosis of polymorphic loci, expected heterozygosity, effective number of alleles per locus, and total number of effective alleles. ISTR also showed superior discriminatory capacity.