Assessment of genetic diversity and grouping of maize lines (Zea mays L.) using ISSR markers

Since the production of maize hybrids needs to selection and crossing of desirable inbred lines, identification of lines with suitable genetic characteristics is one of the objectives of plant breeders. In this study, ISSR markers were used to assess genetic diversity in 100 inbred lines of maize. Sixteen primers amplified 81 loci, of which 78 (95.12 %) were polymorphic. The maximum and minimum number of polymorphic bands were produced by UBC825 (8 loci) and UBC811 (2 loci) primers, respectively. The polymorphic information content (PIC) ranged from 0.65 (UBC849) to 0.93 (443), with an average of 0.77. Cluster analysis based on Jaccard’s similarity coefficient and complete linkage algorithm categorized the studied lines into 3 main clusters. The analysis of molecular variance using ISSR data showed that 9% of the variation was explained by the variation among population and 91% by the variation within population. The results showed that the ISSR markers capable to display a high degree of polymorphism among lines and are useful tools for fingerprinting and categorizing of maize genotypes into different groups. This feature can be used in determining heterotic groups and prediction of heterosis in maize hybrid production.