Genetic diversity analysis and the genetic fingerprinting of 33 DUS test standard tobacco varieties

Abstract BackgroundAt present, the distinctness, uniformity, and stability (DUS) test of tobacco varieties still depends on the field phenotype identification, lack of simple and reliable molecular marker technology. To improve the efficiency and reliability of the identification of tobacco varieties, a molecular marker-based method was developed for the DUS test of tobacco varieties.ResultsIn total, 91 simple sequence repeats (SSR) markers with clear, polymorphic amplification bands were obtained, with polymorphism information content, Nei’s index, and Shannon’s information index values of 0.3603, 0.4040, and 0.7228, respectively. Clustering analysis showed that the 33 study varieties could all be distinguished from each other. Further analysis showed that a minimum of 25 markers was required to reveal the genetic diversity of these varieties. Following the principle of two markers per linkage group, 48 pairs of SSR markers were selected. Correlation analysis showed that the genetic relationships revealed by the 48 SSR markers were consistent with those found using the 91 SSR markers.ConclusionsGenetic fingerprints of the 33 study varieties were constructed using 48 SSR markers, and an SSR marker-based identification technique for new tobacco varieties was developed. This study provides a reliable technological approach for determining the novelty of new tobacco varieties and offers a solid technical basis for the accreditation and protection of new tobacco varieties.