Molecular diversity analysis in lucerne (Medicago sativa L.) genotypes using SSR markers

The present study examined the genetic diversity in 40 lucerne (Medicago sativa L.) germplasm using 30 SSR markers. Lucerne is an autotetraploid, allogamous, and heterozygous species. Out of 30 primers investigated, 24 showed polymorphism and amplified 78 alleles. The number of alleles ranged from 2 to 7. The PIC values ranged from 0.25 to 0.99. The primers AW101 (0.99) and AW332 (0.99) were found to be highly informative for molecular diversity studies. The genetic dissimilarity values varied from 0.27 to 0.89. A high dissimilarity index of 0.89 was found between CO 1 and GETL 21 (0.89) and CO 2 and AWL 6 (0.89). Genotypes RBB 07-01 and LLC 9 (0.27) had the least dissimilarity index. Cluster analysis based on molecular diversity revealed two clusters. Among the two clusters, cluster II comprised a maximum of 26 germplasm, followed by cluster I with 14 germplasm. The study indicated that the diverse lucerne genotypes such as CO 1, CO 2, GETL 21 and AWL 6 could be utilized as one of the parents for developing promising diverse lucerne genotypes through a polycross breeding approach.