Analysis of Genetic Diversity in Buffalograss Determined by Random Amplified Polymorphic DNA Markers

Abstract

Buffalograss [Buchloe dactyloides (Nutt.) Engelm.] is a warm-season grass for low-maintenance lawns. The objective of our study was to assess the genetic variation in 10 accessions of buffalograss obtained from the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences by random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) markers. Fourteen of the 60 primers screened generated 72 highly repeatable polymorphic bands. A dendrogram constructed on the basis of the unweighted pair group method arithmetic average clustering algorithm revealed that nine of 10 accessions formed two distinct clusters. Genetic similarity coefficients calculated from the RAPD data ranged from 0.30 to 0.89 with the lowest value of 0.30 measured between No. 4 and No. 7 from Japan and the United States, respectively. The highest value of 0.89 was measured between No. 6 and No. 8 from the United States and Mexico, respectively. The cophenetic correlation coefficient (r) was 0.92, indicative of a very good fit between the data matrix and the resulting cluster analysis. Principal coordinate analysis (PCO) clearly grouped nine accessions on the two axes with a single accession from the United States that did not cluster with others. The PCO clustering pattern corresponded well with the dendrogram. No. 7 from the United States did not cluster with any other accessions either in the dendrogram or on the basis of the PCO.