Indian Journal of Plant Physiology

Molecular characterization using random amplified polymorphic DNA markers (RAPD) was done to assess the hybridity of the cross G. hirsutum cv. Anjali x G. aridum. Morphologically, the triploid hybrid was intermediate between parents. Around 150 RAPD amplicons were generated from 21 random primers, of which 122 were polymorphic. Based on the presence or absence of DNA bands in the female parent, hybrid and male parent, the molecular markers were classified into seven types (I-VII). Of these seven types, Type IV marker was suitable for identifying the hybrid status of the cross because of the presence of male specific bands in the hybrids. Presence of Type IV markers (13.3%) confirmed the true hybrid status of the cross studied in the present study. In this study, 52.7% of the RAPD markers revealed additivity among parents and the hybrid. However, 37.3% of parental markers (Type III, V and VII) were absent in the hybrid while, 10% unique markers (Type VI) were present in triploid hybrid. Genetic similarities were calculated to determine the genetic relatedness between the parents and offspring.