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Submitted to: Annual International Plant & Animal Genome Conference
Publication Type: Abstract Only Publication Acceptance Date: 12/1/2003 Publication Date: 1/10/2004 Citation: Huang, Y. 2004. Evaluation of genetic diversity in sorghum germplasm using molecular markers. International Plant & Animal Genome XII Conference, San Diego, CA. Poster 265, p. 138. Interpretive Summary: Technical Abstract: In molecular breeding, there is an increasing demand for the establishment of molecular profiles for each of germplasm accession, so that specific germplasm accession can be selected for various crop breeding purposes. Presently sorghum represents one of the largest germplasm collections, comprising more than 42,000 accessions in the U.S. Thus the valued germplasm provides great opportunities for improvement of plant adaptation and other agronomic traits. We hereby report our recent studies, in which random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) markers were used to determine the genetic relationships between cultivated and wild germplasms of sorghum, to assess the genetic diversity present within germplasm of each of the subspecies, and to compare accessions of each subspecies selected from different sources. A population of 44 sorghum accessions comprised both commercial cultivars and wild accessions within each of subspecies, procured from different geographical regions worldwide. Of the 42 primers that produced amplification products, 28 were chosen for their ability to generate RAPD markers, certain rare and genotype specific bands were identified which could be effectively used to distinguish the genotypes. In general, a higher level of genetic variation was observed in those individuals tested, and greater genetic diversity was revealed in wild subspecies than in domestic accessions. Our results indicate that RAPD technology provides an effective tool for diversity analysis of large germplasm collections. The resultant RAPD markers will readily dissect the genetic difference between genotype thereby enabling the formulation of effective strategies for conservation, germplasm management, and selection of appropriate parents for sorghum breeding program. |
