Use of RAPD Markers in Comparison with Agro-morphological Traits for Estimation of Diversity among Chickpea Genotypes

Genetic diversity was assessed among 38 chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.) genotypes on the basis of random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) in comparison with agro-morphological traits. Evaluation of agro-morphological traits revealed highly significant differences among genotypes. Days to 50% flowering ranged from 92-118, plant height 54.16-87 cm, number of fruit bearing branches 4-17.25, number of pods per plant 7.6-27.4, and grain yield per plant 3.5-9.8 g. Ascochyta blight (caused by Ascochyta rabiei) score of these genotypes was recorded on 1-9 rating scale that varied from 3-9. Cluster analysis showing relationship based on morphological traits (scale: Euclidean distance) placed 35 genotypes into five distinct groups, while three genotypes namely Noor-91, Local Mankera and BR4 did not include in any cluster. RAPD analysis showed that 35 RAPD primers amplified a total of 212 fragments out of which 45 were polymorphic. Polymorphic bands were generated by 21 primers whereas 14 primers were monomorphic. Genetic similarity matrix based on Nei and Li's index revealed similarity coefficients ranging from 92-97% indicating lower level of genetic polymorphism revealed by RAPD primers. Dandrogram constructed on the basis of these coefficients grouped all the genotypes into 2 major and 3 small clusters at 92% similarity level. Two decamers, OPC5 and OPC14 distinguished between three Desi and two Kabuli genotypes. This study showed that the level of genetic variability observed in chickpea for agro-morphological traits was not reflected in DNA polymorphism obtained by RAPD analysis. (C) 2017 Friends Science Publishers