Genetic diversity analysis of chewing sugarcane (Saccharum officinarum L.) varieties by using RAPD markers

Abstract

In the present study an efficient and easy method was followed for the isolation of DNA from meristem cylinder in five chewing sugarcane varieties, namely Amrita, Bomaby, Babulal (Co.527), Q83 and Misrimala. The quality and quantity of DNA were assured by visual estimation using agarose gel electrophoresis and UV spectrophotometry. The highest amount of DNA was retrieved from the Amrita (3250 ng/ml) and the lowest amount was attained from the variety Q83 (1450 ng/ml). The amount of recovered DNA was enough for PCR amplification and marker studies such as random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD). Using RAPD markers, bands obtained from fingerprinting (190 bp to 1200 bp) showed 73.5% polymorphism. The dendrogram, based on linkage distance using unweighted pair group method of arithmetic means (UPGMA), indicated segregation of the five chewing varieties of sugarcane into two main clusters. Amrita, Bombay and Misrimala were grouped in cluster 1 (C1) followed by sub-clusters. Babulal and Q83 were grouped in cluster 2 (C2). The results of the present investigation also revealed that the twenty RAPD primers were able to identify and classify the chewing sugarcane varieties based on their genetic relationship.

Keywords

• genetic diversity
• RAPD
• PCR
• UPGMA
• Saccharum officinarum