Assessment of Genetic Diversity in Sesame (Sesamum indicum L.) using Morphological and Molecular Approaches

Morphological and molecular diversity of 23 accessions of Sesamum indicum germplasm collected from local areas of Andhra Pradesh, India were analyzed. Correlation analysiswas carried out for morphological parameters. Euclidian similarity matrix for morphological data was computed between observable distances and dendrogram (r = 0.79). Cluster analysis revealed two major clusters. 4 polymorphic primers were revealed using SSR markers. 14 alleles were detected at four loci with an average of 3.5 alleles per locus. The pair wisesimilarity based on Dice coefficient ranged from 0 to 1. The correlation coefficient (r) computed between observed distances and dendrogram was 0.77 which indicates a good fit. Their genetic distance (0.1–0.9) is wider than their phenotypic distance (0.2–0.7). Matrix comparison between phenotypic and genotypic data gave the correlation coefficient value (r) = 0.12. Thus evaluation of genetic variability is necessary in selecting elite parents in breeding and Marker assisted selection studies.