Studies on Genetic Divergence of Rapeseed Genotypes Using SSR Markers

Thirty five Brassica napus genotypes were evaluated to check their genetic diversity on the basis of mapped 20 microsatellite markers. The genetic similarity values of coefficient ranged from 0.28 to 0.85. A dendrogram was generated based on UPGMA which showed that genotypes were divided into five major clusters. Cluster A had genotypes with higher similarity coefficient of 0.85 while Cluster E had only one genotype (pop 35) genetically distinct from other genotypes. PIC values were calculated for each of the 20 SSR primer pairs. Ten primers PIC value ranged from 0.30 (O110-A05) to 0.59 (Na10-D09 markers). This study would be helpful in assessing the genetic diversity. It was revealed that there was no correlation between the geographical distribution and genetic diversity of the studied germplasm, depicting their close genetic relationship.