EVALUATION OF GENETIC DIVERSITY AMONG EDIBLE BANANA VARIETIES FOUND IN MIZORAM, INDIA USING RANDOMLY AMPLIFIED POLYMORPHIC DNA

Abstract

Genetic variations in the edible non-seeded banana cultivars found in Mizoram, India was studied using RAPD markers. A total of seven edible cultivars belonging to different genome groups were analyzed using six standardized UBC-primers. Out of six primers used, two primers namely UBC 416 and 450 generates 100% polymorphism. The average polymorphism per primer was 92.7%. The polymorphism information content (PIC) of the primers in used ranged from 0.58 to 0.89. The resolving power of primer, UBC-418 was the highest (9.4) while that of primer UBC-419 was the lowest (3.7). The dendrogram analysis revealed the grouping of the cultivars into two major groups. The first group was constituted by all the six hybrid cultivars of A and B genomes while the second group was represented by the lone triploid AAA genome sample. The result of the principal co-ordinate analysis also supported the dendrogram grouping of the samples studied. Thus, the use of RAPD technique for the study of genetic variations in the banana cultivars was demonstrated. It was also shown that significant amount of genetic diversity existed in the samples studied, thereby providing clear genetic information for future breeding and conservation strategies.