Full Length Research Paper

Genetic fingerprinting of chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.) germplasm using ISSR markers and their relationships

Bhagyawant, S. S.^1,3* and Srivastava, N.²

¹School of Studies in Biotechnology, Jiwaji University, Gwalior (M.P.) India

²Department of Bioscience and Biotechnology, Banasthali University, Banasthali (TONK), Rajasthan, India.

³Department of Bioscience, Eritrea Institute of Technology, Asmara, Eritrea (North East Africa).

*Corresponding author. E-mail: sameerbhagyawant@yahoo.com. Tel: 00-291-1-127817/127818.

Accepted 1 December, 2008

Genetic diversity analysis of chickpea germplasm can provide practical Information for selection of parental material and thus, assist in forecasting breeding strategies. Released cultivars and breeding lines of total twelve chickpea genotypes were subjected to ISSR analysis for assessment of genetic diversity. A total of 10 ISSR primers were used in the present investigation. Amplification of genomic DNA of the 12 genotypes using ISSR analysis yielded 492 fragments that could be scored. The total number of bands amplified by 3’ anchored primers varied from 36 to 96. The primers based on poly (ATG) and (GAA) motifs produced least number of fragments (36) whereas, primers (AC) T and (AC) TT, produced maximum number of fragments (96). The unique band as produced by the GGAGA primer in the BCP-15 genotype may be attributed to temperature tolerance phenotype.

Key words: Chickpea, Genetic diversity, ISSR.