Genetic Diversity of Finger Millet [Eleusine coracana (L.) Gaertn] Landraces Characterized by Random Amplified Polymorphic DNA Analysis

Sixty-six finger millet accessions composed of 64 landraces and two improved varieties were evaluated using RAPD markers to study the genetic diversity in finger millet landraces. The study was conducted at the Laboratory of Department of Genetics, Faculty of Science, Kasetsart University, Bangkok, Thailand. The RAPD analysis was executed using 15 primers, which were screened based on their effectiveness to discriminate among the accessions. Among the 123 RAPD fragments amplified, 89 (72.35%) were polymorphic. The polymorphic information content (PIC) ranged from 0 to 0.50 with heterogeneous distribution and about 23% of the markers with a high discrimination power of ≥ 0.30. Genetic similarity between accessions estimated with simple matching coefficients ranged from 0.585 to 0.984. The RAPD cluster analysis successfully separated all accessions with the highest similarity value of approximately 98%. The 66 accessions were grouped into nine clusters at similarity index of approximately 0.83; however, there was no clear-cut separation among finger millet accessions in relation to the origin of their respective region. The result of the present study revealed the existence of ample variability in finger millet landraces that could be employed in the genetic improvement.