[Analysis of genetic diversity among 13 Chinese species of Dendrobium based on AFLP]

Amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP) was assessed in 13 Chinese species of Dendrobium. Three primer combinations E+ACT/M+CAC, E+AAC/M+CAC and E+ACA/M+CAC were used for selective amplification. Between 100 bp and 300 bp, a totle of 346 fragments were detected, in which 342 are polymorphic. The rate of polymorphism was 98.8%. The AFLP data were analyzed using Nei & Li similarity coefficient and UPGMA Cluster method. The result indicated that the 13 species were clustered into three groups on coefficient level 0.54. Group I included D. falconeri, D. officinale, D. wilsonii, D. hercoglossum, D. crystallinum. D. hancockii, D. guangxiense, D. primulinum, D. crepidatum, D. thyrsiflorum. Group II included D. chrysotoxum. Group III included D. loddigesii. This outcome was corresponding to the classification result by using the traditional method. It is concluded that AFLP markers can be used on the studies of genetic relationships and classification of Dendrobium.