Sequence-related amplified polymorphism (SRAP) markers based genetic diversity analysis of cumin genotypes

Cumin (Cuminum cyminum L.) is an industrially important seed spices crop of family Apiaceae. Because of its diverse usage in food and pharma industries, it is essential to document and characterize the cumin genotypes to assess genetic diversity which is prerequisite for its genetic improvement. With this aim, a set of 10 sequence-related amplified polymorphism (SRAP) markers were deployed to examine the genetic diversity among 16 cumin genotypes including five released varieties. Out of 65 amplified bands, a total of 60 polymorphic bands were detected which demonstrated with polymorphism information content (PIC) value of 0.34 with a range from 0.14 to 0.51. The bands size ranged from 120 to 500 bp. The distinctive value of MI (marker index) for studied markers was 2.43 while average resolving power for all markers was 8.49. The UPGMA based grouping showed three distinct clusters at a cut-off value of 0.62. In the present study, the average Jaccard similarity coefficient was 0.59 which indicated a moderate level of genetic diversity in studied cumin genotypes. The result of current investigation suggested that there is need to increase the genetic base of cumin germplasm using different breeding approach viz mutagenesis, germplasm introduction, wide hybridization or somaclonal variation.