Molecular characterization to assess genetic diversity in wild pomegranate of H.P

Genetic diversity in wild pomegranate selections of H.P was carried out using randomly amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) markers. Out of 25 random decamer primers used, only 19 produced polymorphism. Total number of bands amplified was 142, out of which 116 were polymorphic and 19 were specific RAPD markers. The amplified fragments ranged in size from 178-3895 bp and percentage of total polymorphic bands was 70. All the 24 selections of the six sites were distinguished with the combination of 19 primers selected in this study. Similarity matrix was constructed using Dice and Jaccard coefficient. It ranged from 0.42 -0.91 (Jaccard coefficient) and 0.60-0.92 (Dice coefficient). Low similarity value was obtained between Rajgarh-3 and Kandaghat-2 and high similarity was between Badiyal-2 and Shoghi-4 selections. Dendrogram was constructed by using UPGMA method for the clustering for all the selections. All the selectionss were grouped together except for Rajgarh-3, which formed separate cluster. Relationship between individual site and its selections were not clear from the dendrogram, for this purpose individual dendrogram between single site and its selections was constructed. From the data obtained in this study it can be concluded that RAPD studies can be useful in breeding programmes allowing the identification of different selections and assessing the genetic similarity among them, which would facilitate their use as identified genetic stock in future breeding programmes.