Assessment of genetic diversity in Sudanese maize (<i>Zea mays</i> L.) genotypes using random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) markers

Abstract

The randomly amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) molecular markers were used to assess genetic diversity in 27 Sudanese maize genotypes. Ten primers were used, resulting in the amplification of 59 fragments, of which 53 (89.33) were polymorphic. The maximum number of fragment bands (10) were produced by the primer A-1 with 100% polymorphism, while the minimum numbers of fragments (3) were produced by the primer OPA-20. Using the unweighted pair group method with arithmetic averages (UPGMA) method, the genetic associations obtained showed three distinct heterotic groups. The high rate of polymorphism between genotypes revealed by RAPD markers indicated that the method is efficient to analyze genetic divergence and can be used to establish consistent heterotic groups between maize genotypes.

Key words: Randomly amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) markers, DNA polymorphism, maize genetic diversity.