Assessment of sugar beet genetic diversity in the Republic of Kazakhstan by using RAPDmarkers and agromorphological traits

Abstract

Sugar beet is a highly valuable and profitable crop in the Republic of Kazakhstan. It is the only source of raw materials for the production of crystalline sugar and incidentals (tops, bagasse, and molasses). This study aimed to determine the genetic diversity of 53 sugar beet samples, 19 parental lines, and 34 hybrids from Kazakhstan by using random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) markers, agromorphological traits, root mass weight, and sugar content at the Kazakh Research Institute of Agriculture and Plant Growing, Almalybak, Republic of Kazakhstan. The experimental conditions were optimized for the 14 RAPD primers used in this study. The polymorphism index contents varied from 0.24 to 0.46, and all 14 primers were classified as moderately informative. The cluster analysis of RAPD data divided the sugar beet samples into seven groups. The greatest distance (D = 1.4) was noted among the male sterile lines „MS-1611‟, „MS-1631‟, „MS-97‟, and „MS-2113‟ and the pollinator lines „VP-44‟ and „VP-23‟. The samples were divided into six groups on the basis of root mass weight and sugar content via cluster analysis. The hybrids „RMS-90‟, „RMS-134‟, „RMS-133‟, „RMS-136‟, and „Ramnes‟ were grouped in a cluster that showed the highest values of root mass weight, which ranged from 610 g to 680 g. However, the samples with high sugar content (18.2–18.5), i.e., „Shecker‟, „2198‟, „H-22‟, and „1005‟, were grouped into a cluster with a distance of D = 0.8. Lines located at a large genetic distance from each other were recommended for hybridization when creating highly productive hybrids. These findings can be applied in the development of new productive and stable sugar beet hybrids in Kazakhstan.