Elucidation of genetic diversity and population structure of sixty genotypes of Aloe vera using AFLP markers

Aloe vera has been used since ancient times for cosmetics and medicinal uses. In the present study, sixty genotypes were collected from different agro-climatic zones to evaluate genetic variation using amplified fragment length polymorphism markers. A total of ten primer combinations were used, which generated a total of 16,578 fragments from 419 loci with an average of 41.9 loci per primer. The resolving power of the primers ranged from 24.86 to 87.20 with an average of 55.23 and polymorphic information content ranged from 0.92 to 0.98 with an average of 0.95. Clustering pattern and principal coordinate analysis revealed a considerable genetic variability among the selected genotypes. The population genetic analysis was carried out in terms of some essential genetic diversity parameters viz., Na, Ne, H, I, NPL, PPL, Hs, Ht, Nm, and Gst, which indicated a high degree of genetic diversity. Analysis of molecular variance revealed 7.46% genetic variation among the groups and 91.46% among genotypes. The degree of freedom and variance component observed were 2 and 3.496, respectively, among the groups and 57 and 42.858, among the genotypes. Population structure analysis assumes three populations that are consistent with an initial grouping of the genotypes based on their geographical regions. Furthermore, it is concluded that the AFLP markers were found an ideal tool for the genetic diversity in Aloe vera because it is a highly reproducible, highly polymorphic, high throughput, and cost-effective method. Observed results can be used for proper maintenance, validation, and effective utilization of Aloe vera genotypes.