Assessment of Genetic Diversity and Population Structure in Pea (Pisum sativum L.) Germplasm based on Morphological Traits and SSR Markers

Abstract

Background: The study was undertaken to assess the genetic diversity and genetic structure among fifty-five pea accessions using morphological traits and SSR markers. Methods: A total of 55 pea accessions were analyzed using eleven phenotypic traits and twenty SSR markers. The data obtained by morphological and molecular profiling was used for the analysis of genetic diversity and for the estimation of genetic diversity estimates, correlation, principal components analysis and population structure. Result: This study reveals that majority of genetic variation was due to variation within population and were clustered into two distinct groups, which reveals a high admixture within individuals. Accessions viz., VRP-82, VRP-320, VRP-194, VRP-375, EC-97280 and EC-8724, showed great diversity as compared to the other accessions based on both morphological and molecular markers. These accessions may assist in developing and planning breeding strategies aimed to produce new varieties in the future.