Molecular genetic analysis of Asparagus racemosus L. accessions using RAPD markers

Abstract

Ten different accessions of Asparagus racemosus L. originated from Himachal Pradesh and Tamil Nadu were assessed for the genetic variation at molecular level. The genomic DNA was isolated using Stange et al. (1998) protocol with modifications to remove the secondary metabolites as Asparagus racemosus contains high amounts of secondary metabolites that interfere with DNA extraction. Twenty random decamer primers, selected from fifty initially screened, were used to assess variation. All selected primers produced polymorphic amplification products, however, the extent of polymorphism varied with each primer. The similarity coefficient and UPGMA clustering method were employed to construct the phylogenetic tree. The value of similarity coefficient ranged from 0.44 to 1.00. Four accessions (ASP-5, ASP-2, ASP-3, ASP-4) belonging to Mandi, Himachal Pradesh were genetically the most similar ones as validated by their similarity index. All ten accessions were grouped into two major clusters. Accessions from Himachal Pradesh were grouped in a separate subcluster. The second cluster consisted of three accessions of Tamil Nadu. In general, the genetic variability between the accessions of H.P. was less than the accessions of Tamil Nadu. The results warn prevailing of high homogeneity in A. racemosus accessions deployed for cultivation.