Abstract
Sesame (Sesamum indicum L.) is an ancient oilseed crop known for its nutty seeds and high-quality edible oil. It is an unexplored crop with a great economic potential. The present study deals with assessment of genetic diversity in the crop. Twenty two RAPD and 18 SSR primers were used for analysis of the 47 different sesame accessions grown in different agroclimatic zones of India. A total of 256 bands were obtained with RAPD primers, of which 191 were polymorphic. SSR primers gave 64 DNA bands, of which all of were polymorphic. The Jaccardʼs similarity coefficient of RAPD, SSR, and pooled RAPD and SSR data ranged from 0.510 to 0.885, 0.167 to 0.867, and 0.505 to 0.853, respectively. Maximum polymorphic information content was reported with SSRs (0.194) compared to RAPDs (0.186). Higher marker index was observed with RAPDs (1.426) than with SSRs (0.621). Similarly, maximum resolving power was found with RAPD (4.012) primers than with SSRs (0.884). The RAPD primer RPI-B11 and SSR primer S16 were the most informative in terms of describing genetic variability among the varieties under study. At a molecular level, the seed coat colour was distinguishable by the presence and absence of a group of marker amplicon/s. White and brown seeded varieties clustered close to each other, while black seeded varieties remained distanced from the cluster. In the present study, we found higher variability in Sesamum indicum L. using RAPD and SSR markers and these could assist in DNA finger printing, conservation of germplasm, and crop improvement.
Highlights
Sesamum indicum L. (Pedaliaceae), commonly known as sesame or Gingelly, is an ancient oilseed crop cultivated in almost all continents
Random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) and Simple sequence repeat (SSR) markers have been effectively used for the assessment of molecular diversity, Page 9 of 12 10
The extent of polymorphism and diversity reported is comparable to genetic diversity reported for certain varieties of sesame grown in India as well as for germplasm from other countries, such as Turkey (Ercan et al 2004; Frary et al 2015; Uncu et al 2015) and Cambodia and Vietnam (Pham et al 2009)
Summary
Sesamum indicum L. (Pedaliaceae), commonly known as sesame or Gingelly, is an ancient oilseed crop cultivated in almost all continents. (Pedaliaceae), commonly known as sesame or Gingelly, is an ancient oilseed crop cultivated in almost all continents. It is a source of high-quality edible oil that contains, in addition, medicinally important antioxidant lignans, namely, sesamin, sesamolin, and sesamol (Anilakumar et al 2010; Dar et al 2014). Importance of crop genetic diversity in the era of post green revolution and threat by change cannot be over emphasized (Abberton et al 2015). A focused research on genetic diversity and breeding of sesame is needed to improve its worldwide productivity. Morpho-agronomic traits have been the prime variables used for studying genetic diversity (Liu 1997; Bisht et al 1998). Selection of plant varieties based on these traits alone has proved to be ineffective due to problems of low
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