Abstract:
Finger millet (Eleusine coracana 2n=4x=36) of family poaceae is a cereal cultivated in the
arid and semi-aridregions of the world including Sri Lanka. It contains a higher amount of
protein, fat and minerals than rice, corn and sorghum and tolerates adverse agro-ecological
conditions. Therefore, continuous efforts are required for the improvement of this crop.The
genetic studies of finger millet are useful in breeding programs to improve the productivity
of the crop. This study was conducted to reveal the genetic diversity of twenty one finger
millet germplasm accessions having the same accession name as “Kurakkan” collected
from seven districts of Sri Lanka using fourteen SSR (Simple Sequence Repeats) markers
published by Dida et al 2007 which have been used for African and Indian finger millet
accessions. This study is the first time they are used for Sri Lankan accessions. DNA was
extracted from 14 day old leaves, PCR amplified and alleles of the amplified products were
visualized on polyacrylamide gels. Gene diversity and Polymorphic Information content
(PIC) were calculated using PowerMarker version 3.25 (Liu and Muse 2006). Cluster
analysis was performed with Neighbor joining method and the Treeview software
(TreeView 1.6 version for WXP) was used to construct the tree diagram. Of these markers,
five markers (UGEP 11, UGEP 18, UGEP 31, UGEP 78, UGEP 90) were monomorphic
and the other nine markers (UGEP 03, UGEP 05, UGEP 10, UGEP 12, UGEP 15, UGEP
81,UGEP 102, UGEP 106, UGEP 110) were polymorphic. The highest distance was
observed between K1 (Nuwara Eliya District) and K18 (Badulla District) followed by the
distances between K1 and K8 (Anuradhapura district); K8 and K12 (Kurunegala District);
K12 and K13 (Kurunegala District) and between K17 (Badulla District) and K19
(Kurunegala District). Genetic similarity was observed between K12 and K19 from
Kurunegala District; K11 and K2 from Anuradhapura District; K5, K6 (Polonnaruwa District)
and K15, K20 (Kurunegala District). Dendrogram constructed on the basis of SSR
polymorphism revealed the pattern of genetic relatedness among 21 finger millet
germplasms by grouping fifteen of them into 2 main clusters and separating the remaining
six accessions from those two clusters showing their genetic distance with the rest. The
present study unveils the genetic relatedness of these germplasm accessions and
genetically distinct individuals could be utilized in crop improvement programs. An
increased number of markers is used to identify the true genetic diversity of these
accessions.
Keywords: Finger millet, genetic diversity, SSR, polymorphic information content
Acknowledgement: NSF Research Grant number 2011/BT/09 and Deputy Director Plant
Genetic Resource Centre, Gannoruwa.
paro.wee@gmail.com Tel: +94 112696992/ +94 112788874/ +94 772330054
