Comparative Analysis of Genetic Diversity in Some Non-commercial Cultivars of Musa L. from Assam, India, Using Morphometric and ISSR Markers

Abstract

Northeast India is known for its diverse nature of soil, climate, and topography that supports rich banana diversity. Banana (Musa sp.) is the second most important fruit crop in India due to its availability throughout the year, taste along with the nutritive and medicinal value. Thus, the genetic diversity of banana resources is essential for present and future food. This study aimed to determine the comparative genetic variation among 14 non-commercial edible banana cultivars of Assam, India, by using 50 different morphological characters with ISSR markers. Morphological data were analyzed hierarchical clusters and principal coordinates which showed to cluster all the accessions into two distinct groups and subsequently into four subgroups. Furthermore, ISSR markers revealed the average percentage of polymorphism. A total of 62 bands were detected of which 56 bands showed polymorphism using seven primers. The highest number of the band was detected with the primer UBC-843 and the lowest number of the band was observed with UBC-848. The genetic similarity index was prepared using Jaccard's similarity coefficient and the range of genetic similarity was from 0.28 to 0.77 with 0.51 of average. Dendrogram produced from the cluster analysis showed the clear division of the genotypes into two distinct clusters. Seven accessions of viz. Bharatmoni, Assamiya-malbhog, Gobin tulashi, Bokmoni, Bangali-malbhog, Katiya-jahaji, and Abormalbhog were clustered in the first group. The second group included the accessions viz. Jatikol, Adeel, Guwahatia-kol, Fessamonohar, Athiya kol, Ximalu-monohar, and Bogi-monohar. The Mantel test analysis also showed positive relationships between morphological traits and ISSR markers.

Assessment of genetic diversity and volatile content of commercially grown banana (Musa spp.) cultivars

“…The genetic diversity of bananas has been carried out using different molecular markers, and significant success has been made for analyzing commercial cultivars and some wild germplasm 34 , 35 . However, not much is known about the local germplasm, which harbors important traits for adaptation to local climatic conditions and small-holdings.…”

The Genetic Homogeneity of Uganda’s East African Highland Bananas (Mutika/Lujugira) Does Not Match the Extensive Morphological Variation Identified in this Subgroup

“…The only study that showed within-group variation in the AAA Cavendish bananas was reported by Ermini et al (2018) [34]. On the contrary, as expected, greater genetic diversity has been described for studies that used a mixed group of species or subgroups of bananas [6,10,29,[35][36][37][38][39][40][41].…”

Unlocking the Potential of Rice for Thermotolerance using SSR Marker- Based Assessment of Genetic Variability and Population Structure

“…The exploitation of genetic diversity plays a pivotal role in determining the success of breeding program (Borborah et al, 2020). Populations that actively display signi cant levels of genetic variation are particularly valuable, as they can expand the genetic diversity in any breeding program (Nachimuthu et al, 2015).…”