MOLECULAR CHARACTERIZATION OF SEVEN MAJOR CEREAL SPECIES FOR GENOTYPIC RELATIONSHIPS AND ASSESSMENT OF GENETIC DIVERSITY

In this study, eight RAPD markers were utilized to assess the genetic diversity genotypic relationships of 21 genotypes of seven cereal species. In total, 92 DNA fragments (size ranged from 100-1500 bp) were detected for all eight primers (ranged from 9-14), in which 89 (96.74%) were found polymorphic. The primer OPA-04 displayed high levels of polymorphic information content (PIC = 0.3636) and observed heterozygosity (H_o = 0.4776) while marker index was detected highest in OPA-01 (MI = 4.2132). The number of polymorphic loci ranged from 8 to 31 in Zea mays (ZM) and Triticum aestivum (TA) populations, respectively. Nei’s gene analysis revealed the inter-population diversity estimate higher (H_C = 0.0745) than intra-population (H_S = 0.1059) with overall gene diversity as H_T = 0.3452. The genetic differentiation coefficient (G_ST = 0.6931) was noticed higher than inter-population within a region (G_CS = 0.2969). Estimate of gene flow from G_ST (N_m = 1.1868) was found faster than detected from G_CS (N_m = 0.2214). The phylogram discriminated the landraces very effectively with respect to the cytogenetic background among presently studied cereal populations. The genetic components assessed indicated the abundant genetic polymorphism in cereal populations and each genotype has specific genetic identity and got organized into respective clusters.