Genetic Diversity of Sugarcane (Saccharum officinarum L.) Varieties Using SSR Markers

Genetic diversity of 65 sugarcane varieties developed by the Sugar Regulatory Administration were assessed using 20 polymorphic Saccharum-based SSR markers. High genetic diversity was indicated by the resulting banding patterns from the markers ranging from 6 to 29 with a mean of 16.15 with Polymorphic Information Content (PIC) value ranging from 0.60-0.96. Cluster analysis using Jaccard's dissimilarity coefficient of 0.68 generated three clusters which means that the clusters are 68% different from each other. The largest cluster was Cluster II with 34 varieties, followed by Cluster I with 30 varieties, and Cluster III with only one variety (Phil 98-157-2137), suggesting that this variety is distinct based on the 20 primers used. The resulting groups can be used in sugarcane breeding to select divergent parents to maximize heterosis. The utilization of SSR markers can provide sufficient information for making reliable crossings which is useful for future breeding purposes using SRA varieties which are first priority parentals.