Molecular characterization of Pakistani wheat cultivars using random markers

Abstract

The genetic diversity among fifteen varieties of wheat was studied by random amplified polymorphic DNA  (RAPD) analysis. By applying 20 RAPD primers, 182 fragments were amplified, out of which 118 were  polymorphic (64.84%). The number of fragments amplified per primer ranged from 10 to 24 with an average of  17 fragments per primer. Primer K-17 produced the maximum number of fragments (24) and all the fragments  were polymorphic. Range of polymorphism percentage was from as low as 0% (I to 15) to as high as 100%  (K-11). The number of fragments produced per wheat genotype varied from 36 to 56 with an average of 47.2  fragments per genotype. The variety Shahkar-95 produced maximum number of fragments (56). Cluster  analysis classified fifteen varieties of wheat into two main groups; three varieties were placed in group I and  the rest of the varieties were placed in group II. Second group (group II) was further divided into three  subgroups; IIA, IIB and IIC. The pair wise similarity values ranged from 54.88 to 82.93% and showed that  genotypes Kohinoor-83 and Pak-81 were the closest with highest similarity value (82.93%), while genotypes Kohinoor-83 and Kohistan-97 were most distinct with minimum similarity value (54.88%).

Key words: Cultivar, polymorphism, random amplification of polymorphic deoxyribonucleic acid (RAPD), cluster analysis, genotype.