Utility of P450-Based-Analogue (PBAs) Markers for Diversity Analysis of Linseed (Linum usitatissimum L.) Cultivars

Molecular marker techniques to unravel genome-wide variation scattered in the functional regions are becoming available with the advancements in DNA research. These could be of greater utility for assessing genetic diversity at the molecular level than the neutral marker techniques. Mammalian cytochrome P450 analogues (PBAs) in crop plants are said to be ideal tools in this direction. The utility of these was tested for assessing intra-specific diversity in twenty-one linseed cultivars. The results with fifteen primer-combinations suggested that of the total 136 markers that were generated only 25% were found to be polymorphic. The level of polymorphism in linseed cultivars was quite low, although it was possible to discriminate all the cultivars using combined profiles. The grouping of the cultivars using these markers, however, could be related to the known pedigrees.