Genetic diversity analysis in Morinda tomentosa collected from Gujarat using RAPD markers

Abstract

Twelve Random Amplified Polymorphic DNA (RAPD) primers were used to evaluate the genetic diversity of 31 Morinda tomentosa genotypes collected from different villages of Gujarat. An average of 92.4% polymorphism was observed and all the genotypes which could be distinguished using 12 RAPD primers. The numbers of RAPD bands generated per primer varied from 5 to 10 with an average of 6.6 bands per primer. The Jaccard’s similarity coefficients ranged from 0.32 to 0.92 with an average of 0.65. Further, UPGMA clustering grouped all the 31 Morinda genotypes into one main cluster. Dudhwa and Richia have been identified as distinct genotypes as they stood separate in the dendrogram. Average Nei’s diversity value and Shannon’s information index was 0.32 ± 0.17 and 0.48 ± 0.22, respectively suggesting the existence of significant diversity of Morinda tomentosa in Gujarat.