GENETIC VARIABILITY ESTIMATION IN WHEAT USING RANDOM AMPLIFIED POLYMORPHIC DNA BASED MARKERS

Favorable variation within the genome is an important aspect to modify the crops. A huge range of molecular markers are available to dissect the genome of different crops. The data generated by these markers is more reliable as compare to pedigree analysis. To evaluate the diversity of durum genotypes at molecular level, almost 40 RAPD primers were selected on the basis of their polymorphism reported in previous studies. These markers are cost effective and minute quantity of DNA is required for this analysis. In this study, DNA extraction protocol was modified for maximum recovery of DNA from small samples. Both local and exotic wheat accessions were obtained from different sources for this study. On the basis of similarity matrix the genotypes were distributed into three groups. This classification was also in agreement with the already reported pedigree data of these genotypes. Inqilab-91 (9436) and PKV-1600 (9247) proved to be genetically different as compare to other genotypes. A huge amount of dissimilarity between the genomes was also observed which make these accessions an important tool for enhancing breeding of certain characters. Shortly the characterization of genetic variation among plants specie can lead to widen the selective breeding and genome wide analysis.