Naslov
Genetic diversity of alfalfa (Medicago spp.) estimated by molecular markers and morphological characters

Autori
Tucak, Marijana ; Popović, Svetislav ; Čupić, Tihomir ; Grljušić, Sonja ; Bolarić, Snježana ; Kozumplik, Vinko

Izvornik
Periodicum biologorum (0031-5362) 110 (2008), 3; 243-249

Vrsta, podvrsta i kategorija rada
Radovi u časopisima, članak, znanstveni

Ključne riječi
Alfalfa; genetic diversity; RAPD markers; morphological characters

Sažetak
Background and Purpose: Genetic diversity of initial selection materials is essential for successful breeding and creation of new cultivars. The objectives of this research were to study genetic diversity among alfalfa (Medicago spp.) cultivars/population with a different geographical origin by RAPD markers and morphological characters, to determine genetic variation among and within materials using RAPD markers, and to compare results based on molecular markers and morphological characters. Materials and Methods: Fourteen European, Australian, South and North American M. sativa and M. media cultivars and one French wild population M. falcate were studied. Analyses were conducted on 20 randomly chosen individual plants of each cultivars/population. Genetic distances were calculated on the basis of RAPD data and morphological characters. Cluster analysis and AMOVA were shown for molecular data.Statistical analyses were performed in SAS 8.0, Arlequin 2.0 and NTSYS-pc 2.20 software. Results and Conclusions: The six RAPD primers generated 90 polymorphic bands across the 300 individual plants analysed. Genetic distance among cultivars/population ranged from 0.28 to 0.40. Cluster analysis clearly separated population Maron (M. falcata) from all M. sativa and M. media cultivars, which were grouped into two main clusters. Most of the genetic variability estimated by AMOVA was attributed to variation among individuals within cultivars (91.86%). Eight morphological characters, used for morphological analysis, were not sufficient to determine the differences among cultivars. Significant correlations between morphological and molecular distances were not observed. The obtained data suggest that RAPD markers could be useful and powerful tools for the estimation of genetic diversity among diverse alfalfa germplasm.

Izvorni jezik
Engleski

Znanstvena područja
Poljoprivreda (agronomija)

POVEZANOST RADA