Genetic Diversity, Population Structure and Correlation Study in Moringa oleifera Lam. Using ISSR and SRAP Markers

Moringa oleifera Lam. is promoted in homestead gardens and is extensively cultivated as an affordable nutrition source to combat micronutrient-related malnutrition. This study elucidates the correlation between M. oleifera Lam. leaf iron concentration with inter-simple sequence repeat (ISSR) and sequence-related amplified polymorphism (SRAP) markers. Genetic variability analysis in 97 M. oleifera Lam. accessions indicated an average of 59.6% polymorphism through ISSR and 70.13% with SRAP markers. The mean gene diversity h (0.2), gene flow Nm (2.86) and a PhiPT value (0.14) estimated for the markers indicate the high variability existent at intra-population level. Mantel test revealed a moderate positive correlation between the ISSR and SRAP markers (r = 0.53). Population structure results and cluster tree divided the samples into two groups: One group consists of Tamil Nadu accessions and the other comprises Andhra Pradesh and Odisha accessions. Association study based on multiple regression analysis and Pearson’s correlation coefficient unveiled two markers ISSR26 and SRAP4F3R exhibiting a significant (P < 0.01) and (P < 0.05) low positive correlation with leaf iron concentration. © 2018, The National Academy of Sciences, India.