Evaluation of Genetic Diversity of Black Soybean [Glycine max (L.) Merr] by Using RAPD and ISSR Markers

<b>Background and Objective:</b> Black soybeans [<i>Glycine max</i> (L.) Merr] are among the important crops, but the cultivated resources are normally low-yielding, susceptible to diseases and low profit. Therefore, it is necessary to evaluate the genetic diversity of black soybean germplasms for breeding programs. This study investigates the genetic diversity of 22 black soybean varieties by RAPD and ISSR markers. <b>Materials and Methods:</b> Twenty two black soybean genotypes in Vietnam were evaluated for genetic diversity by using Random Amplified Polymorphic DNA (RAPD) and Inter-Simple Sequence Repeat (ISSR) molecular markers. Data were scored following a binary matrix and analyzed using NTSYSpc 2.1 (Numerical Taxonomy and Multivariate Analysis System). <b>Results:</b> All 20 RAPD and 11 ISSR markers produced scorable bands. As 230 loci were investigated over the population, of which 107 were polymorphic, accounting for 46.5%. The collection of 22 black soybean varieties had a relatively close relationship with high genetic similarity coefficients, ranging from 0.71-0.99. Two main genetic clusters were classified. The RAPD markers showed better performance than ISSR markers in evaluating the genetic diversity of these 22 black soybean varieties. <b>Conclusion:</b> The results of this study display that 22 Vietnamese black soybean varieties are relatively identical in genetics. The study is suitable for breeding programs to improve black soybean varieties.