Assessment of genetic diversity in clusterbean using nuclear rDNA and RAPD markers

The extent of genetic variability among 18 genotypes of clusterbean using genetic markers was assessed. Multi-locus genotyping by 9 RAPD primers detected 87.6% intra-specific polymorphism. UPGMA dendrogram clearly delineated the genotypes into fourclusters irrespective of theirplace of origin. Analysis of molecular variance indicated that a greater proportion of total genetic variation exists within population rather than among populations. PCR-based amplification of ITS regions encompassing 5.8S rRNA gene yielded a single band of uniform length of 618 bp in all the samples sequenced. However, multiple sequence alignment of ITS regions of representative genotypes belonging to major RAPD clusters exhibited single nucleotide polymorphism. Thus, these two marker systems validated the existence of genetic variation in studied clusterbean genotypes which can be used in crop improvement.