ASSESSMENT OF GENETIC DIVERSITY AMONG THE VARIETIES OF GOSSYPIUM ARBOREUM AND GOSSYPIUM HIRSUTUM THROUGH RANDOM AMPLIFICATION OF POLYMORPHIC DNA (RAPD) AND SIMPLE SEQUENCE REPEAT (SSR) MARKERS

The relative efficiency of RAPD and SSR markers was assessed for their suitability and reliability for estimating genetic diversity in cotton. Different varieties of cotton belonging to Gossypium arboreum and Gossypium hirsutum were used by manipulating a number of different loci as marker estimates. Twenty one primers were used. The cotton varieties appeared highly polymorphic and the mean polymorphism information content (PIC) values were 0.656 (RAPD) and 0.290 (SSR) while the average genetic distances were 0.371(RAPD) and 0.320 (SSR) in case of Gossypium hirsutum. In case of Gossypium arboreum the mean polymorphism information content (PIC) values were 0.578 (RAPD) and 0.183 (SSR) and the average genetic distances were 0.371 (RAPD) and 0.410 (SSR). Of the 21 primers used for the diversity study of the Gossypium hirsutum 14 (66.66%) RAPD and 04 (19.04%) SSR primers were highly informative while 13 (61.90%) RAPD and 02 (09.52%) SSR primers proved to be highly informative in case of Gossypium arboreum.