Genetic diversity analysis using RAPD and ISSR markers revealed discrete genetic makeup in relation to fibre and oil content in Linum usitatissimum L. genotypes

Flax is an important commercial crop yielding oil, fibre and medicinal products. Present study reports the genetic diversity analysis in a collection of 28 genotypes of flax, including 9 exotic lines. Randomly amplified polymorphic DNA and inter-simple sequence repeat markers were used to study the genetic diversity. The characterized genotypes showed high level of genetic variation with respect to oil and fibre contents of genotypes. Altogether, 27 markers amplified 130 fragments with an average of 4.8 fragments and mean polymorphism information content and marker index values of 0.385 and 1.90 respectively. Jaccards coefficient based dendrogram grouped all genotypes into three groups and separated genotypes based on their oil and fibre contents. STRUCTURE analysis showed two genetic stocks for all the analyzed genotypes and recorded higher admixture in indigenous germplasm. Overall, the results showed that the characterized genotypes were highly diverse genetically and can be used in future breeding and improvement programmes in this crop. Specifically, genotypes such as KL-257, KL-236, Surbhi, Bahgsu and Himani can be used as diverse parents in breeding programmes for generating improved lines in context to oil content.