Molecular Characterization of Genetic Diversity in Jatropha curcas L

Jatropha curcas L. (Euphorbiaceae) is a small tree with valuable attributes, including that as a commercially important non-edible oilseed that grows naturally in the equatorial Americas and has spread to other tropical countries. J. curcas has been found to be the most suitable tree species for production of biodiesel as it can be grown as a quick yielding plant even in problem soils and adverse climatic conditions. J. curcas has been neglected in the past and little systematic work has been done on productivity aspects. It is highly cross-pollinated and is known for continued seedling propagation, it is anticipated for the existence of wide genetic variability offering significant scope for selecting superior genotypes, which will help to improve productivity and provide sound scientific base to this crop. Few attempts have been directed to improve it as a crop plant and characterize it at molecular level. However, understanding the genetic relationship and variation is important for efficient parental selection and different techniques are being used in the study of variations in J. curcas. Application of molecular markers in J. curcas studies would be the right tool to differentiate plant varieties, for choosing right parents for cross pollination and for marker assisted breeding. In the present paper, we have reviewed the studies conducted at the molecular level to characterize the genetic diversity in J. curcas. _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________