Efficiency of RAPD and ISSR Markers in Discriminating the Important Members of Cucurbitaceae Family

Abstract: Cucurbits are vegetable crops of the family Cucurbitaceae which are cultivated in India for food throughout the country. Apart from its food yielding properties, some members of the family are well known for its medicinal values. There is a great diversity within this family. So, the objective of this study is to determine the genetic diversity among some economically important members of this family and also compare the efficiency of RAPD and ISSR marker to measure genetic diversity. The results showed that two markers have the similar potential for genetic diversity analysis and also indicate the great variability among five studied cucurbit species which can be useful for selection of a core collection to enhance the efficiency of germplasm management for use in cucurbit breeding and conservation. Keywords: Cucurbits, DNA isolation, Jaccard’s coefficient, RAPD, ISSR