Estimation of genomic DNA content of some selected cryptic species of  underutilized legume Canavalia

Abstract

Canavalia spp. is an important underutilized legume crop with many valuable nutritional and medicinal properties. It is a potent crop that can be explored to meet the demand of protein rich food for the ever-increasing population. In the present study the genome size and 2C DNA content of five different Canavalia species were estimated using flow cytometry following the pre-optimized protocol. With reference to the two internal standards, Glycine max Merr. ‘Polanka ’and Solanum lycopersicum L. ‘Stupicke polni rane’ the 2C genomic DNA content of five Canavalia species was estimated range from 1399 to 1487 Mb and 1379 to 1477 Mb. Less variation was observed in genomic content of five species of Canavalia. These findings will be crucial to unravel the genomic architecture, which will not only provide valuable information at the structural level but will also facilitate genetic improvement of these lines for further use in future.