Enetic diversity in red clover (Trifolium pratense L.) using SSR markers

Abstract

Red clover (Trifolium pratense L.) is one of the main forage species from temperate regions and it's originated in Eurasia where wild-type populations are found in the Caucasus Mountains. Considerable variation for this crop has been recorded for few molecular variations. The identification and understanding of molecular genetic diversity in red clover accessions will help in effective genetic conservation along with efficient breeding programs in this crop. This study has shown molecular diversity using microsatellite markers in red clover accessions from around of the world. In this investigation, 40 genotypes have been selected and analyzed using 15 SSR primers. These primer pairs amplified 1146 polymorphic loci among the genotypes screened. The number of fragments amplified by each SSR primer combination varied from 24 for RCS3681 to 109 for RCS1729 with an average value of 80.78 per primer combination. The SSR marker data was further analyzed using cluster algorithms and Principal coordinates analysis (PCoA). The results indicated that the considerable genetic variations were discovered among the analyzed genotypes. The SSR based clustering could identify the putative pedigree types of the present red clover types of diverse origins.