Electronic Journal of Plant Breeding (Jul 2010)
DNA fingerprinting for identification and protection of elite sugarcane (Saccharum spp.) varieties
Abstract
As sugarcane is vegetatively propagated through stem cuttings, there is uniformity and stability of the DNA fingerprintsonce generated. This has made DNA fingerprinting a reliable method of varietal identification in this crop. One of themajor ways sugarcane industries would benefit from molecular markers is in the use of SSRs for cultivars identification.In this study, 16 elite clones of tropical and sub-tropical India viz Co 86032, Co 99004, Co 0118, Co 0209, Co 0218, Co0237, Co 0238, Co 0241, Co 0314, Co 0403, Co 0409 ,Co 2001-09, Co 2001-13, Co 2001-15, Co 0239 and , Co 0240were analyzed with twenty sugarcane specific STMS primers with high polymorphism information content. Analyses ofthe profiles generated on silver stained 8 % polyacrylamide gels led to the identification of unique bands for specificclones. The bands specific to each clone listed. For instance, Co 0118 a fast spreading variety in subtropical India couldbe identified by the presence of the bands viz. NKS25228 , NKS57805 and NKS 3340. The material used in this study are ofrecent origin and their DNA fingerprinting would provide proper varietal identification in the context of Plant VarietyProtection, legitimacy testing and germplasm conservation and utilization in addition to quality assurance for delivery ofnew cultivars to the industry. Moreover, these clones being a gene pool for high yield, juice quality and resistance tovarious abiotic and biotic stresses, the fingerprints enable identification of more diverse clones for systematic utilizationin hybridization programme to benefit development of genotypes with economic worthiness and tolerance to stressconditions.
