PLANT CELL BIOTECHNOLOGY AND MOLECULAR BIOLOGY

Potato, the edible tuber of Solanum tuberosum L., is a popular vegetable in Bangladesh considering its production, multipurpose uses, and demand. Since genetic variability is considered as a prerequisite for any crop improvement program, the quantification of genetic diversity is an essential step to select diverse parents for successful hybridization program. In the present study, Random Amplified Polymorphic DNA (RAPD) markers were used to characterize some indigenous and modern potato genotypes and to analyze their genetic variation at the molecular level. A total of 24 potato genotypes were collected from diverse regions of Bangladesh and DNA was extracted from fresh leaves, followed by quantification through Nanodrop spectrophotometer and PCR amplification. The amplified DNA profile was electrophorized (1.5% agarose), stained with ethidium bromide, and documented. The result revealed that eight RAPD primers produced 84 distinct and differential amplified bands (230-2750 bp), where 75 were polymorphic (89.90%), and nine were monomorphic (10.1%). The polymorphism ranged from 69.23% (OPZ-03) to 100% (OPA-09, OPB-08, OPC-06, OPC-07and OPZ-07). Genetic distance ranged from 0.113 to 0.847, where the highest value (0.847) was observed in Lal Pakri and BARI Alu-46, meanwhile, the lowest distance (0.113) was found in BARI Alu-36 and BARI Alu-37 genotype pair. The diversity analysis by Unweighted Pair Group Method of Arithmetic Means (UPGMA) indicated the segregation of 24 potato genotypes into five clusters and one solitary genotype. The study revealed a significant amount of genetic diversity among the studied 24 potato genotypes. The information obtained would be useful and key in future potato breeding programs.