Assessment of genetic diversity among pigeonpea genotypes using SSR markers

Twenty two SSR markers of different crop species origin were used to assess polymorphism through their SSR fingerprinting of 16 cultivated pigeonpea genotypes. Four hundred twenty five bands were amplified in all the sixteen genotypes. A total of 46 SSR fragments were amplified. Eight primers showed 100% polymorphism. Based on dendrogram constructed using the similarity coefficient values, 16 genotypes were grouped into two distinct clusters. Cluster I comprises mostly late duration genotypes while cluster II comprises medium duration genotypes except CO-6 and Bahar. Both the clusters and sub-cluster in the dendrogram were supported by high bootstrap values, thus indicating that the SSR could be a good choice to classify the genotypes. Genotypes with high molecular diversity could be used in breeding methodologies and development of gene pools with broad genetic base. The genotype specific bands developed by the SSR primers could also be used for cultivar identification.