Analysis of genetic diversity among Saccharum spontaneum L. From four geographical regions of India, using molecular markers

Saccharum spontaneum L. a wild relative of sugarcane is the most variable and diverse among the Saccharum species. This species had been successfully exploited in sugarcane improvement programmes since 1915 and most of the present day commercial varieties are derivatives of interspecific hybrids involving S. spontaneum. The S. spontaneum germplasm available today in the World collections is diverse and represent different geographical groups. In the present investigation, an attempt was made to characterize 40 S. spontaneum clones collected from 4 different geographical areas in India using 20 random, 2 ISSR and 2 telomere primers. Of the 491 bands generated by these primers 83.9% were polymorphic. The genetic diversity estimated based on these markers was found to be moderate (48.9%). The pair-wise genetic distance between the accessions ranged from 29.8 to 60.0. The accessions from Arunachal Pradesh were found to be the most diverse, while Tamil Nadu accessions showed relatively less diversity. Diversity between Tamil Nadu and Kerala collections was found to be low, while the diversity between the Orissa group and the rest was found to be high. The collections from Mayurbanj and Cuttack regions of Orissa were found to be distinct. Arunachal Pradesh accessions, being more diverse, are a potential source for exploitation in sugarcane breeding programmes.