Genetic diversity of <i>Coffea arabica</i> accessions using RAPD and DAMD molecular markers

ABSTRACT This study evaluated the genetic diversity of twenty‐four Coffea arabica accessions being maintained at Western Highlands Agriculture and Forestry Science Institute (WASI), Vietnam using 18 RAPD and 14 DAMD markers. RAPD markers produced a total of 171 loci with 151 loci (86.82%) were polymorphic while DAMD primers detected a total of 125 loci with 101 loci (80.11%) were polymorphic. The RAPD makers showed a higher PIC (0.31) and Rp (4.56) values than those of DAMD markers (0.24 and 3.12, respectively). The similarity coefficient ranged from 0.536 to 0.854 based on the pooled data. These results indicate a high genetic diversity among C. arabica accessions. Correlation analysis using Mantel's test indicated a moderate correlation ( r = 0.544) between RAPD vs DAMD matrices, but a strong correlation between RAPD ( r = 0.903)/DAMD ( r = 0.860) and pooled data were obtained. PCA revealed the distribution of the 24 C. arabica accessions aligning with UPGMA categorised them into four distinct clusters. In general, coffee varieties belonging to the same geographic origin were grouped into distinct clusters. A high level of genetic diversity among C. arabica varieties could be used for crossing programmes to develop hybrid coffee accessions with the desired traits in Vietnam.