Molecular characterization and genetic diversity assessment in soybean [Glycine max (L.) Merr.] varieties using SSR markers

Soybean varieties (48) released from different breeding stations belonging to different agro-climatic zones were characterized with 21 SSR markers with at least one primer from each linkage group. The total number of alleles detected by the aforesaid primers was 84 with a maximum and minimum frequency of 7 and 2, respectively. The maximum and minimum PIC values were found to be 0.781 and 0.304 for the primers SOY HSP176 and Satt278, respectively. The average genetic similarity coefficient from all possible combinations was found to be 0.267. The genetic similarity coefficient for most number of pairs was in the range of 0.1-0.4, indicating high diversity amongst the chosen genotypes. All the 48 varieties could be easily distinguished from each other based on the selected markers and thus were effective for varietal identification and diversity analysis of soybean genotypes. A dendrogram based on STMS loci profile showed good agreement with their cultivars pedigree information.