Asian Journal of Biotechnology and Genetic Engineering

Aim: Millets are a group of highly variable small seeded grasses, grown around the world as cereal crops or grains for fodder and human food. In this study, screening of crop primers with 8 genotypes of millet crop species belonging to genus Panicum, Eleusine, Echinochloa and Brachiaria was done. Main objective was to understand the genetic diversity among 7 millet crops varieties and a wild grass using RAPD markers by targeting nuclear gene. To find out the relationship between species of the same genus based on RAPD markers and to construct phylogenetic tree using PyElph 1.4 and Past326b softwares.

Methodology: PCR analysis was done using the selected RAPD to identify the polymorphic loci between the 8 genotypes. Primers OPC06, OPD13, OPW04, OPC18 were selected for analysis based on the band patterns, for further RAPD analysis. Bar Coding and Sequencing was done for validation of species with the help of softwares BLAST and Clustal OMEGA. Phylogenetic tree was constructed using all 4 primers with the help of software tools PyElph 1.4 and Past326b. The point parameter, which guided the joining linkage rule, is unweighted pair group average (UPGMA) and the genetic distance was computed from raw data.

Outcome: Among the 4 primers used, OPW04 and OPD13 showed maximum scoring of bands based on the phylogeny were established between the crop species of Eleusine species and the Indian Goose grass. The dendrogram showed that the varieties could be grouped into clusters. The sample C (Elusine indica), D (Elusine coracana) is diverged from the same root and C, D and G (Indian goose grass) are from the same root. Sample G is found to be very closely related to the C and D.