Genetic diversity of popcorn genotypes using molecular analysis

Area of Science:

• Plant genetics
• Molecular biology
• Biotechnology

Background:

• Estimating genetic divergence is crucial for crop improvement.
• Dominant molecular markers offer insights into genetic relationships.
• Understanding the impact of dissimilarity coefficients is key for accurate cluster analysis.

Purpose of the Study:

• To analyze genetic divergence among 26 popcorn genotypes using dominant molecular markers.
• To evaluate the influence of different dissimilarity coefficients on cluster analysis outcomes.
• To compare the performance of Jaccard, Dice, and Rogers and Tanimoto coefficients.

Main Methods:

• Random Amplification of Polymorphic DNA (RAPD) primers were used to generate molecular markers.
• 157 DNA fragments were amplified, with 92 being polymorphic.
• Genetic distances were calculated using Jaccard, Dice, and Rogers and Tanimoto coefficients, followed by cluster analysis (UPGMA).

Main Results:

• Cluster analysis generally did not group genotypes by parental origin.
• The largest genetic distance was observed between varieties 17 (UNB-2) and 18 (PA-091).
• While specific small genetic distances varied, overall grouping patterns and high/medium/low distance agreements were consistent across coefficients.

Conclusions:

• Dominant markers and various dissimilarity coefficients provide reliable, albeit nuanced, insights into popcorn genetic divergence.
• The choice of coefficient had minimal impact on overall cluster patterns, suggesting robustness in the analysis.
• Further research can refine marker selection and coefficient application for precise genetic diversity assessments.