Molecular Markers in Mulberry: An Appraisal and Future Prospects

Random amplified polymorphism DNA-RAPD and directed amplification of mini satellite DNA (DAMD) methods are important tools to analyze the genetic diversity of mulberry varieties and would together differentiate them with unique banding pattern. The use of DAMD to obtain robust profiles for the range of diversity among four mini satellite core sequence primers for directed amplification of mini satellite DNA (DAMD), three simple sequence repeats (SSR) motifs as primers for inter simple sequence repeats (ISSR) and 20 arbitrary sequence decamer primers for random amplified polymorphism DNA (RAPD) reactions employed. Acomparative study of ISSR's and SSR's with respect to their informativeness and efficiency in determining the genetic diversity and relationships among mulberry genotypes, realized more than 75% polymorphism among the varieties utilizing 17 random amplified polymorphism DNA (RAPD) and 11 inter simple sequence repeats (ISSR) primers. PCR based DNA finger printing could be quite extensively in cross pollinating species like mulberry.