Vol.3, No.5, 723-731 (2012) Agricultural Sciences
http://dx.doi.org/10.4236/as.2012.35087
Diversity analysis of chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.)
germplasm and its implications for conservation
and crop breeding
Zakia Ahmad1, Abdul Samad Mumtaz2, Mohammad Nisar1, Nasrullah Khan1*
1Department of Botany, University of Malakand, Chakdara, Pakistan; *Corresponding Author: nasrullahdushkheli@yahoo.com
2Department of Plant Sciences Quaid-i-Azam University, Islamabad, Pakistan
Received 1 June 2012; revised 8 July 2012; accepted 24 July 2012
ABSTRACT
The exploration of genetically variable acces-
sions is the key source of germplasm conserva-
tion and potential breeding material for the fu-
ture. The more diverse group of cultivars pro-
vides an ample opportunity to breeders for re-
leasing new and superior varieties, considering
their quality traits for direct commercial utiliza-
tion. In this study, we assessed the genetic di-
versity of Cicer arietinum 70 accessions from
Pakistan and USA using morphological traits,
seed protein and molecular markers. Based on
four morphological traits, the average coeffi-
cient of variation was calculated as 56.8% with
significant correlation among yield traits. The
analysis reveal ed that the acc ession s 1898, 2819 ,
3022, 3037, 3040, 3043, 30 54, 3059 and 3063 were
best in performance with a total of 12% envi-
ronmental error. The cluster analysis based on
protein data revealed 50% genetic diversity
among accessions. The clustering pattern did
not show any grouping that could be attributed
to either the geographic distribution or the field
performance. For molecular characterization of
germplasm 5 PCR based RAPD primers, OPA4,
OPA9, OPG13, UBC181 and UBC733b used were
found to be polymorphic with 37% genetic diver-
sity among local and exotic a c ces si ons . W h e rea s ,
3 SSR primers viz., CaSTMS2, CaSTMS15 and
CaSTMS21 scored the genetic variability up to
55% by cluster analysis through UPGMA per-
cent disagreement. The p rime rs, TA72 and TA130
were linked with yield related traits, indicated
highest dissimilarity index value (0.69) and nota-
ble variation in the identified promising lines. The
Morphometric, Biochemical and Molecular mark-
ers reported here, are he lpfulto assess the extent
of genetic diversity among Chickpea accessions
and can be used to identify the unreported cul-
tivars with desirable quantitative traits for im-
proving Chickpea yield in Pakistan. Based on
the study, the accessions 3043 and 3054 have
been recommended to the breeders for their fu-
ture use in multiplication and screening against
various diseases.
Keywords: Chickpea; Morphological
Characterization; SDS-PAGE; RAPD; SSR;
Cluster Analysis
1. INTRODUCTION
Among legumes, chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.) ranks
third worldwide [1], and its seeds contain >20% protein
that is an important energy source for human [2]. Chick-
pea is currently grown at about 10.7 million hectares
worldwide with an average annual production of 8.2 mil-
lion tons [3]. The developing countries share more than
95% of the area, production and consumption of chick-
pea. It is grown mainly in South East Asian countries
with significant cultural, religious and nutritional value.
Two main types of cultivated chickpea are Kabuli (white
seeded) and desi (brown seeded), representing two di-
verse gene pools [4]. In Pakistan, the chickpea growing
area has increased from 0.88 million hectares in 1981-
1983 to 1.07 million hectares in 2005-2007 with net
production of 0.73 million tones at an annual rate of 1.9
percent [3]. Though chickpea is cultivated on large area,
but its production remained low probably due to lime
induced Iron deficiency along with other biotic and
abiotic stresses [5,6].
The production rate over the past decades remained
short of the actual demand that may be attributed to the
lack of improved technologies, unavailability of healthy
seeds to farmers and environmental stresses besides
competition with major crops like wheat and cotton [7].
Furthermore, the agricultural practices and successive
Copyright © 2012 SciRes. OPEN ACCESS
Z. Ahmad et al. / Agricultural Sciences 3 (2012) 723-731
724
breeding has narrowed down the genetic base of culti-
vated chickpea [8]. This has promoted the search for new
sources of variation that might be useful for chickpea
breeding program [9]. The estimation of genetic diversity
based on morphological characterization and biochemi-
cal analysis using SDS-PAGE [10] and molecular eva-
luation using RAPD markers [11] and SSR markers [12]
have been reported and being carried out for detection of
diversity in chickpea cultivars. All the techniques for
estimation of genetic diversity have their own implica-
tion and validity, none is superior, but have specific im-
plications for crop improvement or germplasm manage-
ment. In the present study, we reported morphological,
biochemical and molecular markers to characterize and
compare local and exotic chickpea germplasm to assess
the genetically variable and promising lines and their in-
ference to yield related traits, viz., 100 seed weight and
seed size for yield improvement of cultivated chickpea in
Pakistan.
2. MATERIALS AND METHODS
Seventy chickpea accessions were obtained from the
gene bank of Plant Genetic Resource Program (PGRP),
National Agriculture Research Centre, Islamabad, Paki-
stan (Catalogue). These accessions were planted under
field conditions at research area of University of Mala-
kand, Chakdara, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (34˚40'N, lat
72˚03'E long, alt 728 m asl) that is a unique area for its
bio-geographic feature. All accessions were planted in
du- plicated randomized complete block design keeping
row length of 5 m with 75 cm row distance, respectively.
The recommended culturing practices were followed
throughout the cropping season to achieve healthy and
vigorous crop. The accessions were investigated under
field conditions during three consecutive years, i.e.,
2008-2009, 2009-2010 and 2010-2011 (sowing during
November and harvesting in April for all the cropping
season). For data scoring five competitive plants were
sampled for 100-seed weight, grain yield, total biomass,
whereas harvest index was expressed in percentage as a
ratio between grain yield and total biomass.
To investigate the genetic diversity on the basis of
protein, sodium dodecyl sulfate polyacrylamide gel elec-
trophoresis (SDS-PAGE) was carried with 12% poly-
acrylamide gel, in a discontinuous buffer system accord-
ing to the method described by [13].
For molecular analyses, the genomic DNA from a sin-
gle dry seed was isolated by modified method of [14],
total eight RAPD and seven SSR markers were utilized,
out of these five RAPD and five SSR markers indicated
polymorphism shown in (Table s 1 and 2). The PCR for
RAPD was conducted for 40 cycles with the initial de-
naturation temperature at 94˚C for 2 min, annealing at
36˚C for one minute and final extension temperature for
each primer was fixed at 72˚C for 10 min. For SSR
Primers the thermal cycler was optimized with initial
denaturation at 94˚C for 3 min, annealing at 55˚C for 1
min and final extension at 72˚C for 7 min.
The data scored for morphological traits were sub-
jected to statistical analysis including correlation coeffi-
cient and frequency distribution, whereas the presence (1)
and absence (0) of each band in case of biochemical and
Table 1. RAPD Primers used for genetic diversity in chickpea germplasm.
Primer Name sequence No. of bands Polymorphic loci Fragment size
UBC 181 ATGACGACGG 17 63% 300 - 6000
UBC 733b GGGAAGGGAG 17 56% 250 - 2500
OPA4 AATCGGGCTG 9 87% 300 - 1750
OPA9 GGGTAACGCC 6 93% 350 - 2500
OPG13 CAGCACCCAC 16 97% 250 - 1350
Table 2. SSR primers used for chickpea germplasm analysis.
Primer Sequence forward/ Reverse Molecular size
CaSTMS2 ATTTTACTTTACTACTTTTTTCCTTTCAATAAATGGAGTGTAAATTTCATGTA 114 bp
CaSTMS15 CTTGTGAATTCATATTTACTTATAGATATCCGTAATTTAAGGTAGGTTAAAATA 159 bp
CaSTMS21 CTACAGTCTTTTGTTCTTCTAGCTT ATATTTTTTAAGAGGCTTTTGGTAG 60 bp
TA72 GAAAGATTTAAAAGATTTTCCACGTTATTAGAAGCATATTGTTGGGATAAGAGT 198 bp
TA130 TCTTTCTTTGCTTCCAATGT GTAAATCCCACGAGAAATCAA 219 bp
Copyright © 2012 SciRes. OPEN ACCESS
Z. Ahmad et al. / Agricultural Sciences 3 (2012) 723-731 725
molecular markers were subjected to statistical analysis
for the estimation of genetic disagreement with the help
of STATISTICA 7.0 for Windows using UPGMA.
3. RESULTS
The morphological data analysis based on four quan-
titative traits showed variation among chickpea acces-
sions (Table 3). The correlation coefficient among quan-
titative traits revealed significant association of 100 seed
weight with grain yield and biomass for both the years.
The grain yield had positive significant correlation with
total biomass and harvest index, whereas biomass and
100 seed weight were negatively correlated to harvest
index (Table 4).
When compared the frequency distribution data for
accessions, a notable variation was recorded for seed
weight and harvest index where 47.14% of which were
placed in the frequency class 22.5 - 32.4 of “seed
weight” and 12.5 - 23.4 for “harvest index” in 2010.
The overall variation observed could be attributed to 5%
environmental error (EE) for “seed weight” reporting, that
this to be a rather stable trait, while 19% EE was ob-
served in “harvest index”. The data recorded in 2008 and
2009 scored more than 50% accessions as one frequency
class while, this threshold could not be achieved for
2010-2011. Hence this pattern of distribution varied
much with a higher level (19%) variation attributed to
environmental error. However, a different pattern was
revealed for grain yield where relatively half, i.e., 51%
accessions were placed in one frequency class (1.1 - 58.3)
and the remaining of the accessions populated other fre-
quency classes. However, more than 50% were observed
in the same class range in 2011, associated with 12%
environmental error. The observations regarding total
biomass in 2011 a comparatively high percentage of ac-
cessions as 48% and 36% were placed in a frequency
classes (50 - 279) and (280 - 509) followed by 44% were
also placed in the same range in 2009 with 8% environ-
mental error (Figure 1).
Data analysis further evaluated that the accessions
3022, 3040, 3059, and 3063 performed better for a single
trait or “total biomasses”. The “grain yield” performance
was found best in the genotypes 2819, 3039 and 3056 for
“100 seed weight” and “harvest index” it was found in
accession 1898. For two traits, 100 seed weight and total
biomass the promising accession was however, 3037.
Similarly, 3043 and 3054 were found best for three quan-
titative traits “100 seed weight”, “grain yield” and “total
biomass” (Table 5).
A total of 16 high molecular weight polypeptide bands
Table 3. Basic statistics of the 4 quantitative traits of 70 chickpea germplasm.
C.V% Maximum Minimum Std.dev. S.E Mean Traits
40.21 a
42.53 b
41.73 c
57.76 a
64.51 b
56.80 c
12.36 a
8.53 b
8.50 c
11.02 a
11.6 b
11.6 c
1.32 a
1.37 b
1.38 c
27.41 a
26.94 b
27.70 c
100/Seed Weight
63.15 a
65.49 b
91.00 c
287.6 a
316.7 b
228.9 c
1.20 a
7.10 b
10.50 c
56.97 a
54.89 b
66.23 c
6.81 a
6.56 b
7.92 c
90.20 a
83.82 b
72.78 c
Grain Yield
53.48 a
60.08 b
63.61 c
1150.00 a
1322.00 b
1422.00 c
50.00 a
101.00 b
87.00 c
236.8 a
269.05 b
270.2 c
28.30 a
32.16 b
32.30 c
442.7 a
447.8 b
424.8 c
Total Biomass
52.01 a
51.65 b
72.56 c
53.38 a
48.83 b
53.02 c
0.22 a
4.91 b
1.73 c
11.23 a
10.72 b
13.58 c
1.34 a
1.28 b
1.62 c
21.60 a
20.75 b
18.72 c
Harvest Index
C.V%: Represent coefficient variation percentage; σ2 Ava = 56.8%; a: Represent year 2008-2009; b: Represent year 2009-2010; c: Represent year 2010-2011.
Table 4. Correlation coefficient of 70 genotypes among quantitative traits harvested during 2008-2009, 2009-2010 and 2010-2011.
Total biomass Grain yield 100/seed weight
0.36* a
0.57** b
0.21* c
Grain yield
0.67** a
0.33* b
0.45* c
0.56** a
0.65** b
0.39* c
Total biomass
0.21 a
0.32 b
0.19 c
0.46** a
0.33* b
0.68** c
0.03 a
0.01 b
0.07 c
Harvest index
*Highly significant; **Significant. a: 2008-2009, b: 2009-2010, c: 2010-2011; P 0.01, highly significantly correlated; P 0.05, significantly correlated.
Copyright © 2012 SciRes. OPEN ACCESS
Z. Ahmad et al. / Agricultural Sciences 3 (2012) 723-731
726
4.3
34.3
25.7
1.4
25.7
44.3
17.1
11.4
1.4
15.7
47.1
24.3
2.8
47.1
51.4
37.1
7.1
1.4 2.8
62.8
24.3
01.4
25.7 25.7
8.5
55.7
11.4
18.5
10
48.5
10
1.4
12.8
10
34.3
4.3
1.43
17.14
38.6
7.1
11.4
18.6
35.7
2.9
11.4
31.4
5.3
25.7
17.1
4.3
8.5
41.4
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
12.5-22.4
22.5-32.4
32.5-42.4
42.5-52.4
52.5-62.4
1.1-58.3
58.4-115.6
115.7-172.9
173-230.2
230.3-287.9
50-279
280-509
510-739
740-969
970-1199
1.5-12.4
12.5-23.4
23.5-34.4
34.5-45.4
45.5-56.4
seeds weightgrain yieldtotal biomassharvest index
FD (%age)
A-2009 B-2010 C-2011
tEE5%
tEE12%
tEE8%
tEE19%
Figure 1. Comparative Picture showing frequency distribution of three years data collected during 2008 to 2011 of
chickpea germplasm. tEE-total environmental error across the years.
Table 5. Selection of genotypes on the basis of best performance for the year 2008-2009, 2009-2010 and 2010-2011.
Traits G-1 G-2 G-3 G-4 G-5 G-6 G-7
100 Seed weight 3037** 3043*** 3054*** 3056*
Grain yield 2819* 3039* 3043*** 3054***
Total Biom 3022* 3037** 3040* 3043*** 3054*** 3059* 3063*
Harvest Index 1898* - - - - - -
G: Genotype; *Best performance for a single trait; **Best performance for two traits; ***Best performance for three traits.
were scored, the position of each band was tagged
through an arrow (Figure 2). The low molecular weight
bands were not reproducible, therefore these were not
considered in the study. Cluster analysis of 70 accessions
reported 50% genetic diversity with most of the acces-
sions clustering in three clusters as C-1 comprised of 5
(USA) and 4 (Pakistani), C-2 the largest group with 33
USA, 13 (Pakistani) and C-3 with 6 USA and 7 Pakistani
accessions. Contrary to this, 3027 and 3045 (USA) were
remained unresolved. Hence these accessions were grouped
as 13.2%, 67.6% and 19.1% of the total population re-
spectively (Table 6, Figure 3).
At 0.25 linkage distance the dendrogram based on
RAPD markers was divided into seventeen clusters for
70 chickpea accessions, showed 37% genetic diversity.
The analysis sorted the total accessions into two main
groups, which were further divided into 17 clusters.
Cluster-12a grouped together the promising lines 3059
and 3043 at a same linkage distance 0.14, while 3039,
3063 at 0.20 and 3056 at 0.13 linkage distance are
closely allied with each other. In a same way, 3022 and
3040 occupied cluster-10 and 11 respectively at similar
linkage distance 0.19. The genotype 3054 of cluster-5
and 3037 here showed slight difference in their banding
pattern found as 23% - 25% dissimilar (Figures 4(a), (b)
and 5).
A total of 8 SSR markers, were screened for estima-
tion of genetic diversity in Chickpea lines, in which only
5 were found to be polymorphic (Figures 6(a) and (b)).
The dendrogram formed by UPGMA percent indicated
55% genetic diversity among the accessions and divided
them into 4 clusters at a linkage distance 0.5 (Figure 7).
The dissimilarity matrix values of 70 chickpea genotypes
SSR Primers were ranged from 0.36 to 0.69. The primers
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Z. Ahmad et al. / Agricultural Sciences 3 (2012) 723-731 727
Figure 2. Electrophorogram showing the distribution of different molecular weight protein
in Chickpea germplasm arrows indicate the presence of band, KDa-K-Daltons.
Figure 3. Cluster analysis of chickpea 70 genotypes using SDS-PAGE.
Table 6. Cluster analysis based on disagreement by using SDS-PAGE in 70 chickpea genotypes.
Clusters Genotype
C-1 2611, 2650, 2616, 2629, 2595 (USA)
2558, 2562, 2553, 2544 (Pakistan)
C-2
3031, 3026, 3041, 3057, 3056, 3039, 3042, 3037, 3044, 3043, 3035, 3046, 3024 3011, 3059, 3058, 3015, 3066, 3047,
3032, 3040, 3033 3063, 3062, 3061, 3054, 2859, 3065, 3064, 3022, 3021 3023, 3024 (USA)
2430, 2278, 2441, 2235, 2532, 2497, 2473, 2237, 2531, 2234, 2499, 2188, 1995 (Pakistan)
C-3 3017, 3016, 2855, 2831, 2819, 2654 (USA)
2273, 2272, 2236, 2023, 1936, 1998, 1898 (Pakistan)
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Z. Ahmad et al. / Agricultural Sciences 3 (2012) 723-731
728
(a)
(b)
Figure 4. (a) RAPD-PCR amplification products of chickpea
accessions using Primer UBC181; (b) RAPD-PCR amplifica-
tion products of Chickpea genotypes using Primer OPA9.
CaTMS2 and CaTMS21 showed low dissimilarity index
(0.36) while TA130 and TA72 however scored the high-
est dissimilarity index value (0.69) Table 7.
4. DISCUSSION
Internationally Cicer is an important and mandate crop
both at the International Crops Research Institute for the
Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT), located in India and at the
International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry
Areas (ICARDA), in Syria. However, a number of chal-
lenges exist for Cicer as a crop. There are several pests
and diseases of chickpea (such as Aschochyta blight).
The further development of accession level data and
subsequent comparison of this data across collections
would greatly facilitate the identification of unique ac-
cessions. Further work is needed on characterizing and
evaluating the collections and on making the information
openly available. A common platform for information on
Cicer germplasm is of high priority. Through the genera-
tion of accession-level data and by improving the acces-
sibility of information on accessions globally, unique
genetic resources may be identified and prioritized for
support. Only through such efforts, as well as the forma-
tion of stronger collaborative relationships with user
communities, is there likely to be a significant increase
in the use of collections by plant breeders and others.
Genetic diversity provides a sort of insurance against
complete destruction of plant populations in the event of
natural disaster. In extreme cases, low genetic diversity
may lead to complete elimination of some plant species
resulting in loss of overall biological diversity [15]. In
this investigation, 56.8% average coefficient of variation
was observed. This level of variation in the study indi-
cates the strength and potential of the collected germ-
plasm. The plant breeder easily establishes different po-
tential combinations for chickpea cultivar identification.
Significant correlation in yield contributing traits was
observed which is helpful for the establishment of traits
improvement. In correlation studies 100 seed weight was
found positively highly significantly correlated with
grain yield in 2008-2009 and 2009-2011, while, posi-
tively significantly correlated with total biomass in 2010.
In a similar way grain yield has positive significant cor-
relation with harvest index in 2008-2009, 2011 and this
relation was highly significant with the same trait during
2010. The total biomass however, observed negatively
correlated with harvest index during the years 2009,
2010 and 2011.
The level of environmental error (EE) greatly affects
the composition of genotypes in breeding strategies. The
low level of EE usually having less effect on plant geno-
type composition than that of its high level [16]. Well-
Table 7. Dissimilarity matrix values of SSR analysis for chickpea genotypes.
CATMS2-GD CATMS15-GD CATMS21-GD TA72-100S.wt TA130-seed size
CATMS2-GD 0.00
CATMS15-GD 0.40 0.00
CATMS21-GD 0.36 0.47 0.00
TA72-100S.wt 0.43 0.51 0.44 0.00
TA130-seed size 0.51 0.51 0.61 0.69 0.00
Copyright © 2012 SciRes. OPEN ACCESS
Z. Ahmad et al. / Agricultural Sciences 3 (2012) 723-731 729
RAPD markers
(
UPGMA %disa
g
reemen t
)
1936
3011
3021
2558
2553
2497
3054
3046
1995
3042
3041
3024
3023
3022
3040
3031
3026
3066
3064
3063
3044
3061
3059
3043
3032
3033
3027
3016
3039
3047
3035
3015
3058
2499
2859
3056
3045
2544
2532
3057
3017
3062
2273
2531
2237
2611
2473
2441
2236
2430
2272
2234
2629
2595
2819
2562
2278
2023
3065
3020
2235
2831
2650
2654
2616
1998
3037
2855
2188
1898
0.05
0.10
0.15
0.20
0.25
0.30
0.35
0.40
Linkage Distance
C1C17
Figure 5. Dendrogram of 70 chickpea accessions based on RAPD data using UPGMA.
(a)
(b)
Figure 6. (a) SSR-PCR amplification products of chickpea local
and exotic accessions using SSR primers; (b) SSR-PCR ampli-
fication products of chickpea genotypes using primer CaSTMS2.
defined cultivars adapted to local environments are de-
veloped for specific areas. These cultivars are genetically
diverse in nature and contribute significantly to the
variation in chemical composition and Biological effi-
cacy of the plant products [17].
This study identified 11 best performance and stable
accessions; one can easily select breeding lines for
chickpea breeding program. Among 11 accessions; lines
3043 and 3054 could be used directly as cultivars. These
two selected lines will be grown in field trials for multi-
plication and Screening against different diseases, and
ultimately will be available to the farmers. Crop stability,
is the ability of a crop to exhibit minimum interaction
with both predictable and unpredictable environments.
The Study of genotype and environment interaction (G ×
E) is important to plant breeders because it can limit the
progress in the selection process, hence is a basic cause
of differences between genotypes for yield stability. Va-
rieties that show low G × E interaction and have high
stable yields are desirable for crop breeders and farmers,
because it indicates that the environments have less ef-
fect on the performance of accessions and their yields are
largely due to their genetic composition [18]. The SDS-
PAGE analysis resussslted in 50% genetic diversity among
70 genotypes was not based on their geographic distribu-
tion and moreover, these lines were not separated on
their performance.
The evaluation and characterization of the accessions
through PCR based markers i.e., RAPD, which were
Copyright © 2012 SciRes. OPEN ACCESS
Z. Ahmad et al. / Agricultural Sciences 3 (2012) 723-731
730
SSR (UPGMA % disa greem en t)
3011
3061
2831
3044
3016
2611
3046
2499
2629
2616
2237
2234
3040
3021
2595
2562
2273
3059
3063
3023
2023
1998
3062
3022
2859
2650
3032
2473
3065
2531
2235
3064
3058
3047
3031
3027
2497
2278
3033
3017
2544
1936
3042
3024
3066
3054
3045
2819
2553
2654
2441
3056
3043
3041
3039
3035
2430
2272
2236
3026
3020
3015
2855
1995
2558
2188
3057
3037
2532
1898
0.0
0.1
0.2
0.3
0.4
0.5
0.6
Linkage Distance
C-1 C-2 C-3C-4
Figure 7. Dendrogram of 70 chickpea accessions based on SSR data using UPGMA percent disagreement.
found to be polymorphic showed 37% genetic diversity
among the sorted lines. Traits determined by RAPD
technique are highly polymorphic and useful in studies
on chickpea concerning its genetic diversity, phylogeny
and evolutionary biology [19].
The analysis performed by using SSR markers for de-
termination of genetic diversity in local and exotic lines
viz., CaSTMS2, CaSTMS15 and CaSTMS21 could dif-
ferentiate the accessions on the basis of unique or rare
alleles, also have been reported [20,21]. Moreover, the
identification and evaluation of trait linked genes through
molecular markers TA72 and TA130 can also provide a
strongest tool to breeders for chickpea yield improve-
ment in Pakistan.
Importantly, seed weight was also proposed as an ac-
curate measure of chickpea seed size [22]. Therefore, to
produce seed of a specific size, and to meet a specific
market demand through targeted breeding, knowledge of
the genetics that determine seed size is required. A large
seed size variation exists within and between chickpea
types, with some desi types as large as Kabuli types and
some Kabuli types as small as desi types. Most of the
previous investigations have relied on F2 and backcross
populations for seed size segregation analysis and used
100-seed weight data for QTL analysis in chickpea. That
may be targeted for future marker-assisted breeding stra-
tegies [23].
It is therefore, suggested that molecular markers i.e.,
RAPD, SSR, SNP and AFLP could be useful for the
characterization and grouping of germplasm on the basis
of their origin and performance [24,25].
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