GENETIC DIVERSITY ANALYSIS OF CASTOR (RICINUS COMMUNIS L.) USING SSR MARKERS

Abstract

The aim of this study was to assess genetic diversity within the set of 60 ricin genotypes using 5 SSR primers. Ten SSR primers revealed a total of 36 alleles ranging from 5 to 10 alleles per locus with a mean value of 7.20 alleles per locus. The PIC values ranged from 0.758 (Rco30) to 0.879 (Rco29) with an average value of 0.829 and the DI value ranged from 0.774 (Rco30) to 0.881 (Rco29) with an average value of 0.836. Probability of identity (PI) was low ranged from 0.002 (Rco29) to 0.015 (Rco30) with an average of 0.006. A dendrogram was constructed from a genetic distance matrix based on profiles of the 5 SSR loci using the unweighted pair-group method with the arithmetic average (UPGMA). According to analysis, the collection of 60 diverse accessions of castor bean was clustered into five clusters. Cluster 1 contained 14 genotypes, cluster 2 included 7 genotypes of ricin and cluster 3 contained 8 genotypes of ricin. Cluster 4 included 10 genotypes and cluster 5 contained 21 genotypes. We could not distinguish 4 genotypes grouped in cluster 1, RM-103 and RM-104 and genotypes RM-100 and RM-101, which are genetically the closest. Knowledge on the genetic diversity of castor can be used to future breeding programs for increased oil production to meet the ever increasing demand of castor oil for industrial uses as well as for biodiesel production.