DNA fingerprinting: an overview on genetic diversity studies in the botanical taxa of Indian Bamboo

Bamboo is an economically important member of the grass family Poaceae with over 1500 documented uses. India has the 2nd largest reserve of bamboo in Asia after China. It is also called “Poor man’s timber”, “Green Gold” and “twenty-first century steel”. They are extensively used as raw material for various industries besides serving the rural population through several uses. Their immense versatility and utility have resulted in the genetic erosion and over-exploitation of bamboos leading to a constant decline in their natural populations. This has made it indispensable to conserve and propagate bamboo species. For utilization and conservation of genetic resources, germplasm characterization and screening are noteworthy. For the characterization of bamboo species, multiple attempts have been taken with the support of molecular markers and with the emergence of molecular biology, different molecular markers are now being used to study genetic variability, genetic diversity and genotype identification. These markers include RAPDs, ISSRs, SSRs, RFLPs and AFLPs. Other marker types which have been employed for molecular characterization in bamboo but not particularly in Indian bamboo can also be used as a potential marker choice such are SCoT, IRAP, SRAP, SNP. The present review majorly deals with the role of different molecular markers in the genetic diversity study of natural populations of Indian bamboo species. It will provide information on the availability of different molecular markers to identify diversity in Indian bamboo species. It will give an ease of access for different researchers working in the field of bamboo to design primer for different markers accordingly. Further, this fingerprinting-based diversity study will also help in proper breeding of bamboos for its improvement program.