Variations in Proline Metabolism and DNA Polymorphism in Sorghum Cultivars Differing in Osmotic Stress Tolerance

Six drought tolerant and six drought susceptible sorghum cultivars were screened for proline accumulation and proline 5 carboxylate synthetase (P5CS) activity in relation to osmotic stress. The PCR based RAPD technique was employed to detect polymorphism in genomic DNA with eighteen operon primers in all twelve sorghum cultivars. Higher synthesis of proline and P5CS enzyme activity was observed in the roots of stressed plants of tolerant cultivars than susceptible ones. The primers OPC-19, OPE-03, OPE-09 and OPA-07 detected polymorphism in genomic DNA of six tolerant and six susceptible cultivars.