Assessment of genetic variations among highly endangered medicinal plant Bacopa monnieri (L.) from Central India using RAPD and ISSR analysis

Genetic variations of 15 Brahmi (Bacopa monnieri L.) accessions were evaluated using random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) and inter simple sequence repeats (ISSR) markers. During RAPD analysis, amplification of genomic DNA of the 15 accessions by 22 primers generated 197 fragments, of which 187 were polymorphic with an average of 8.95 bands per primer. The amplified products varied in size from 2,200 to 250 bp. Twenty-five selected ISSR primers produced 284 bands across 15 accessions, of which 270 were polymorphic with an average of 10.80 bands per primer. The PIC value ranges from 0.363 to 0.908 for RAPD primers, while 0.419 to 0.836 in case of ISSR. The size of amplified bands ranged from 2,800 to 240 bp. Similarity index values ranged from 0.16 to 0.95 (RAPD), 0.18 to 0.98 (ISSR) and 0.179 to 0.945 for pooled ISSR and RAPD markers data. Mantel test revealed the similar distribution pattern of the polymorphism between RAPD and ISSR markers and the correlation co-efficient (r) was 0.71384. The results indicated that both of the marker systems RAPD and ISSR, individually or combined can be effectively used in determination of genetic relationship among B. Monnieri accessions collected from different parts of Central India. It could be concluded that the information of genetic similarities and diversity among Brahmi accessions is necessary for their conservation and breeding programs.