Level of genetic divergence among accessions of the native forage grass, Mesosetum chaseae Luces, for tracing strategies to conservation of germplasm collections from the brazilian pantanal

Mesosetum chaseae, known as grama do cerrado (savannah grass), is an important native forage plant in the Pantanal region, in the state of Mato Grosso do Sul, Brazil. However, no records of molecular markers at DNA level to evaluate the genetic diversity in the germplasm collection of M. chaseae are available. Current study hypothesizes that ISSR markers may be useful to evaluate genetic diversity within and among accessions of the collection from the Embrapa Pantanal germplasm bank. One hundred and forty-two DNA segments were amplified by 12 ISSR primers. Total polymorphism of ISSR markers in six accessions was high. Estimated high genetic divergence level has indicated that the six accessions form genetically structured populations. ISSR markers neither identified redundancy in six accessions nor duplicates within each accession. Highest polymorphism rate was reported in A4, whilst the lowest occurred in accession A25. Predominant genotypes at A24 and A25 accessions may be valuable for tracing strategies to conservation of germplasms and to obtain plants with the desirable agronomic characteristics by crosses between contrasting individuals in future breeding programs. On the other hand, accessions A4 and A8 with a greater mixture of genome are essential for further seed multiplication for genetic diversity preservation and may be exploited for pasture conservation programs in different habitats.

Automated summary

The study found that ISSR markers can be used to evaluate genetic diversity in the germplasm collection of Mesosetum chaseae. The research also revealed that the six accessions form genetically structured populations.