Assessment of Genetic Diversity and Population Structure of Exotic Sugar Beet (Beta vulgaris L.) Varieties Using Three Molecular Markers

Abstract

Sugar beet (Beta vulgaris L.) is a biennial herb belonging to the Amaranthaceae family. It contributes to approximately 30% of the world’s total sucrose production and is an economically important crop. In this study, we analyzed the genetic diversity and population structure of 132 exotic sugar beet varieties using three molecular makers: four pairs of simple sequence repeat (SSR) primers, three pairs of insertion–deletion sequence (InDel) primers, and 20 cis-element amplification polymorphism (CEAP) primers. The results indicated that the number of alleles (Na) was 298, among which the number of effective alleles (Ne) was 182.426 (accounting for approximately 61.2%). The mean value of the genetic diversity index was 0.836. The polymorphic information content (PIC) was 0.639–0.907 (mean = 0.819), indicating a high level of polymorphism. These sugar beet varieties were classified into six clusters using the UPGMA method of cluster analysis. Population structure analysis revealed that the most ideal K value was 6. This indicated that the test materials could be divided into six categories, consistent with the clustering results. The clustering results indicated that most sugar beet varieties from the same breeding company clustered together, and the genetic distance between them was small, indicating that they may share the same male and/or female parent. Some varieties from different companies clustered together, indicating a narrow genetic base and potential exchange of germplasm resources between breeding companies. This study revealed the genetic differences among exotic sugar beet varieties and characteristics of the population structure. It provided a scientific basis for the identification of sugar beet varieties and markers-assisted breeding in China in the future.