Study of polymorphism in some QPM and non-QPM varieties using rapd marker Rakesh Tak, Rajesh Singh

logo.pngStudy of polymorphism in some QPM and non-QPM varieties using RAPD marker

 

Rakesh Tak1, Rajesh Singh2

                               1International Centre for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology (ICGEB), New Delhi

                            3Genetics and Plant Breeding, IAS, BHU, Varanasi-221005

 

                           ABSTRACT

 

Quality protein maize (Zea mays L.) (QPM) can help alleviate human malnutrition and reduce costs of animal feed because it contains the opaque-2 mutation, which results in increased lysine and tryptophan concentrations and a higher biological value as a food than normal maize. PCR-based random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) markers were employed to assess genetic diversity in ten maize cultivars, viz. 5 QPM and 5 Non-QPM varieties. Eight random primers screened revealed polymorphism among the genotypes. Most of the primers revealed single polymorphic band and 95.45 % of the products were polymorphic. Forty four scorable fragments were obtained with an average of 5.5 bands per primer and the average number of polymorphic (which were forty two in number) bands found to be 5.25.  Genetic similarity based on Jaccard’s similarity coefficient ranged from 0.147 - 0.723, indicating narrow genetic variability among the genotypes based on RAPD markers. The ten cultivars of maize formed two major clusters in the dendrogram.

 

Key Words: Genetic relationship, Maize, Polymorphism, RAPD