RAPD and ISSR fingerprints as useful genetic markers for analysis of genetic diversity, varietal identification, and phylogenetic relationships in peanut (Arachis hypogaea) cultivars and wild species.

Abstract: Twenty-one random and 29 SSR primers were used to assess genetic variation and interrelationships among subspecies and botanical varieties of cultivated peanut, Arachis hypogaea (2n = 4x = 40), and phylogenetic relationships among cultivated peanut and wild species of the genus Arachis. In contrast with the previous generalization that peanut accessions lack genetic variation, both random and SSR primers revealed 42.7 and 54.4% polymorphism, respectively, among 220 and 124 genetic loci amplified from 13 accessions. Moreover, the dendrograms based on RAPD, ISSR, and RAPD + ISSR data precisely organized the five botanical varieties of the two subspecies into five clusters. One SSR primer was identified that could distinguish all the accessions analysed within a variety. Although the polymorphic index content varied from 0.1 to 0.5 for both ISSR and RAPD markers, primer index values were substantially higher for RAPD primers (0.35-4.65) than for SSR primers (0.35-1.73). It was possible to identify accessions, particularly those of divergent origins, by RAPD and (or) ISSR fingerprints. Based on these results, marker-based genetic improvement in A. hypogaea appears possible. None of the 486 RAPD and 330 ISSR amplification products were found to be commonly shared among 13 species of section Arachis and one species each of sections Heteranthae, Rhizomatosae, and Procumbentes. Dendrograms constructed from RAPD, ISSR, and RAPD + ISSR data showed overall similar topologies. They could be resolved into four groups corresponding to the species grouped in four taxonomic sections. The present results strongly support the view that Arachis monticola (2n = 4x = 40) and A. hypogaea are very closely related, and indicate that A. villosa and A. ipaensis are the diploid wild progenitors of these tetraploid species.

Evidence for new nuclear and mitochondrial genome organizations among high-frequency somatic embryogenesis-derived plants of allotetraploid Coffea arabica L. (Rubiaceae).

The most important commercial species of coffee, Coffea arabica, which produces 73% of the world's coffee crop and almost all of the coffee in Latin America, is the only tetraploid (allotetraploid, 2n=4x=44) species known in the genus. High-frequency somatic embryogenesis, plant regeneration and plant recovery were achieved from leaf explants of a mature, elite plant of C. arabica cv. Cauvery (S-4347) using a two-step culture method. To assess the genetic integrity of the nuclear, mitochondrial and chloroplast genomes among the hardened regenerants, we employed multiple DNA markers (RFLP, RAPD, ISSR) for sampling various regions of the genome. Although the nuclear and mitochondrial genomes of the mother plant and five ramets derived from the mother ortet were similar in organization, this was not so in the somatic embryo-derived plants where both nuclear and mitochondrial genomes changed in different, characteristic ways and produced novel genome organizations. A total of 480 genetic loci, based on the data obtained from a total of 16 nuclear, mitochondrial and chloroplast gene probes, in combination with nine restriction enzyme digests, 38 RAPD and 17 SSR primers, were scored in 27 somatic embryo-derived plants and the single control. Among these, 44 loci were observed to be polymorphic. A relatively low level of polymorphism (4.36%) was found in the nuclear genome, while polymorphism in the mitochondrial genome (41%) was much higher. No polymorphism was detected in the chloroplast genome. The polymorphism in the mitochondrial genome was found in only 4 plants. Such selective polymorphism was not true for the nuclear genome. Thus, this in-depth and comprehensive study demonstrates, for the first time, the presence of subtle genetic variability and novel genome organizations in the commercially well-established somatic embryogenesis-derived plants of this important coffee species.