Molecular diversity of Pakistani upland cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.) varieties based on microsatellite markers

For the management of germplasm and varietal characterization the understanding and estimation of genetic diversity plays a key role. In this study genetic diversity of thirty Pakistani Upland cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.) varieties was determined by using thirteen SSR markers as these markers are highly polymorphic and efficient for comparative genome mapping. Total 48 band were produced by all thirteen markers; five markers were monomorphic and eight were polymorphic. Highest polymorphism was 68% that produced by NAU 2083 marker. To find the genetic relatedness between thirty studied varieties UPGMA was used for the construction of dendrogram. The similarity between studied thirty varieties ranged from 38.46% to 100%. Highest pic value was 0.6484 shown by NAU 2083 and the mean pic value was 0.2833 which predicted that very low genetic diversity is present among the cotton varieties under investigation.