Abstract:
Linseed is an important oilseed and fibre crop pred
ominantly grown in India. The aim
of the present research was to evaluate genetic div
ersity and patterns of relationships
among the 58 genotypes through 10 morphological tra
its and 12 polymorphic
microsatellite (SSR) markers. Euclidean analysis of
agro-morphological traits grouped
the 58 genotypes into four clusters of which cluste
r I was the largest with 20 accessions
while clusters II and IV were most genetically dive
rse due to maximum inter-cluster
distance. Principal component analysis revealed thr
ee traits accounted for more than
86% of the total variation. A total of 41 alleles w
ere amplified with 12 SSRs having an
average of 5.71 alleles per primer locus. The Polym
orphic Information Content (PIC)
varied between 0.18 to 0.78. Based on Jaccard's sim
ilarity coefficient, the genetic distance
varied from 0.07 to 0.89 with an average of 0.54±0.
10. The genotypes RKY-14, KL-213,
LC-185 and Kartika were found to be the most diverg
ent among all the genotypes studied
on the basis of genetic distance. The most diverse
genotypes identified in this study can be
used in breeding programs to broaden the genetic ba
se of the linseed germplasm.
Keywords:
Diversity, Linseed, Microsatellite markers, Princip
al component analysis.
