Narrow genetic base of private sector tomato varieties revealed by RAPD profiles

Genetic diversity of 17 tomato varieties under cultivation in India that have been developed by private sector was analysed by RAPD markers generated by 8 random primers. The overall high levels of pair wise similarity (mean=0.838) implied the existence of limited genetic variation among the varieties. The trend was similar to the one observed among tomato varieties bred by public sector institutions. The study was carried out with the sole purpose of demonstrating the narrow genetic base among Indian tomato cultivars irrespective of the source of breeding. Although, reduction in the genetic diversity among the modern Indian tomato cultivars may be attributed to the trend towards breeding for similar ideotypes in achieving higher productivity, this drift is ominous for the breeders from the perspectives of maintenance of genetic diversity and acquiring breeders’ rights over novel varieties.