Abstract
Forty-four taro (Colocasia esculenta), two tanier (Xanthosoma species) and one Colocasia gigantea accessions were evaluated for genetic diversity using random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) primers. Seventy-three of 112 primers amplified PCR DNA products used to fingerprint the accessions. Thirty-two primers were considered highly informative because they amplified more than 5 bands or amplified one or more polymorphic bands that distinguished between accessions. RAPDs showed high genetic diversity in taro accessions from Indonesia, were capable in distinguishing between Hawaiian accessions, and could separate triploid from diploid accessions. UPGMA cluster analysis of genetic similarity estimates (Jaccard's coefficient), separated the accessions into 3 main groups with C. esculenta divided into 5 subgroups. These primers will be useful for future genetic analysis and provide taro breeders with a genetic basis for selection of parents for crop improvement. Polymorphic markers identified in the DNA fingerprinting study will be useful to screen a segregating population which is being generated in our laboratory aimed at developing a taro genetic linkage map.
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