Genome classification of Musa cultivars from northeast India as revealed by ITS and IRAP markers

Genome classification of 38 banana cultivars found in northeast India was successfully carried out using polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) of the internal transcribed spacer (ITS) region and inter-retrotransposon amplified polymorphism (IRAP) techniques. The RsaI digestion of the ITS region revealed the composition of A genome in 32 cultivars and B genome in 29 cultivars. With the gypsy-IRAP marker, 33 cultivars were identified to be composed of B genome. The AluI digestion of the 420-bp PCR amplification product using copia-IRAP primer resulted in the identification of the ABB genome in 17 cultivars. Overall, the data obtained from 36 cultivars using the molecular markers were in accordance with the initial classification based on morphological characters except in two cultivars. The present findings provide the reliable information on the genome classification and the status of the existing banana genetic resources from the northeastern Indian region, which could be utilized in improvement and conservation programs.