DNA marker-assisted evaluation of cultivated and local mulberry genotypes of southern India
Keshava Murthy Bengaluru Channappa; Bandekodigenahalli Marappa Prakash; Shailaja Hittalmani and Hosagavi Puttegowda Puttaraju
Abstract: Germplasm evaluation is essential in any crop improvement program and genetic characterization at morphological and molecular level is very vital for breeding programs to be successful. Twenty six cultivated and local genotypes of mulberry were subjected to diversity analysis with RAPD markers. Among the total 31 RAPD primers studied, 24 were polymorphic and 7 were monomorphic. Of the total 197 loci obtained from 24 polymorphic primers, 110 loci (55.83%) were polymorphic and 87 (44.16%) were monomorphic. A clear grouping was seen among the cultivated genotypes based on yield with varieties like S36, V1, S54 and M5 showing proximity to each other and sharing a close similarity. Local genotypes are rich reservoirs of resistant gene sources and are well acclimatized to the prevailing environmental conditions. Utilization of these along with other high yielding varieties will produce various combinations of resistance sources which can be incorporated into high yielding varieties.