Validation of chickpea-STMS markers and DNA fingerprinting in lentil (Lens culinaris subsp culinaris) cultivars of India

A set of 31 lentil genotypes having indigenous and exotic origin were screened using 42 STMS markers derived from chickpea genome. Out of the 42 STMS primers tested, all of them gave amplified products in lentil. Among them 36 (85.7%) primers were found to be polymorphic among the lentil genotypes. At genetic distance of less than 0.29, all the 31 genotypes could be grouped into five clusters where cluster IV contained 19 genotypes, including the exotic genotype Precoz. Many primers gave genotype-specific amplified products which in combination(s) could be used for DNA fingerprinting of lentil genotypes. A set of 16 STMS markers have been identified which could differentiate all the lentil cultivars of India and, along with the morphological data can be used for identification and confirmation of the purity of the lentil cultivars.