Genetic diversity in Cinnamomum tamala Nees. accessions through DNA fingerprinting using molecular markers

The present study aims to investigate the genetic variation in Cinnamomum tamala Nees. (Lauraceae) accessions collected from different locations of Uttarakhand Himalaya. The leaves samples were analyzed by using RAPD and ISSR markers. A total 22 primers were used for initial screening in order to select the ones giving good amplification. Seven primers (OPA-12, OPA-18, OPB-10, OPB-17, ISSR-21, ISSR-24 and ISSR-30) were found to be polymorphic in eight accessions. Based on combined profile of ISSR and RAPD markers the dendrogram was constructed by using UPGMA cluster analysis and all the accessions showed discrimination from one another. All the accessions were clustered into two major groups, one containing T1-T4 and second T5-T8. The percentage of polymorphic bands was 86.3% for three ISSR markers and 70.5% for four RAPD markers. This emphasize that ISSR markers were found to be the best for genetic variation in the species.