Abstract
The aim of this study was to estimate the genetic diversity in 74 RR soybean cultivars from different Brazilian breeding programs. Analyzes were based on multivariate statistical techniques from phenotypic characteristics and microsatellite molecular markers (SSR). Ten agronomic traits were used in the analysis of the Euclidean distance, Tocher’s clustering, UPGMA clustering and principal component analysis. Eighty-six of 100 SSR primer-pairs studied were selected based on their polymorphism information content, and analyzed using Jaccard Coefficient and UPGMA clustering method. The cultivars were clustered into seven groups according to the UPGMA and Tocher’s methods, based on agronomic traits, while molecular analysis identified six groups. The phenotypic distances ranged from 0.46 to 9.79 and the dissimilarity measurements, based on SSR molecular markers, ranged from 0.07 to 0.73. Both results from agronomic traits and molecular markers showed that there is genetic variability among the RR cultivars and that the Monsanto breeding program has the most divergent germplasm. The analyzed agronomic traits and the chosen SSR markers were effective in assessing the genetic diversity among genotypes, besides proving to be useful for characterizing genetic variability of soybean germplasm. Keywords: Glycine max , genetic variability, phenotypic characteristic, SSR markers. African Journal of Biotechnology , Vol 13(26) 2613-2625
Highlights
Soybean (Glycine max (L.) Merrill) is one of the most important commodities grown and commercialized in the world, and Brazil is currently the second largest producer with 90% of its area (24.3 million hectares) planted withgenetically modified organism (GMO) soybean cultivars (James, 2013)
The Brazilian soybean cultivars are extremely uniforms because they originated from only a few ancestral lines, which resulted in a narrow genetic base of germplasm
The genetic distance among cultivars obtained through agronomic traits ranged from 0.46 to 9.79, indicating the presence of genetic variability among soybean cultivars (Table 2)
Summary
Soybean (Glycine max (L.) Merrill) is one of the most important commodities grown and commercialized in the world, and Brazil is currently the second largest producer with 90% of its area (24.3 million hectares) planted with. GMO soybean cultivars (James, 2013). With the introduction of GMO soybean resistant to Roundup. Various public and private seed breeding companies have incorporated the RR gene into their best lines (Green, 2009). The Brazilian soybean cultivars are extremely uniforms because they originated from only a few ancestral lines, which resulted in a narrow genetic base of germplasm
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