Analysis of genetic similarity detected by AFLP and PCoA among genotypes of kenaf (Hibiscus cannabinus L.)

Abstract

Seventeen kenaf varieties collected from several regions around Asia and Europe were grown in Korea and their genetic diversity was analyzed using morphological characters and AFLP technique. In the morphological analysis, the 17 varieties were divided into two major groups according to stem diameter, plant height, and flowering periods. The late varieties, which could yield more biomass compared with the early-medium varieties, were included in one of two major groups. Nonetheless, it is difficult to identify individual varieties based on morphological characters because of their limited variation. For the AFLP analysis, 34 primer combinations generated a total of 3,193 polymorphic bands (out of 3,914) with a polymorphic rate of 82%. The clusters were divided into two major groups with a similarity coefficient of 0.63 by UPGMA analysis method; but each group did not show a common tendency. Additionally, the results of the AFLP analysis did not show similar tendency compared with morphological data, a result that might be explained in terms of convergent evolution, i.e. the acquisition of morphologically similar traits between distinctly unrelated varieties.