Analysis of genetic diversity among garden- and field-pea genotypes of higher Indian Himalayas

Genetic diversity among 31 genotypes of field and garden pea including primitive cultivated forms and widely cultivated varieties of India was studied using 40 random decamer and 9 ISSR primers. A total of 274 amplicons were detected using both types of markers, which amplified 192 RAPD and 82 ISSR amplicons. Average number of bands amplified per primer was higher in case of ISSR (9.1) as compared to RAPDs (4.8). ISSR primers also exhibited higher average polymorphism (89.0%) and resolving power (4.50) than RAPDs (72.4%, 1.87, respectively). Genetic similarity estimates based on the pooled data of both types of markers using Jaccard’s coefficient ranged from 0.58 to 0.85 delineating considerable diversity among the pea genotypes studied. The 31 genotypes clustered in two major groups based on pooled data. Popular cultivars of garden and field pea of the region exhibited high similarities among themselves. However, primitive cultivated forms collected from the higher Indian Himalayas were diverse from the current varieties and hold potential in pea breeding programmes.