ANALYSIS OF MORPHOLOGICAL AND MOLECULAR MARKERS IN POTATO (Solanum tuberosum L.)

Abstract

Information about identification, genetic diversity and relationships between potato (Solanum tuberosum L.) genotypes is important for conservation, breeding programs and utilization of genetic resources of this species. With the objective of evaluating the efficiency of morphological characters and RAPD and ISSR markers to discriminate potato genotypes, 15 potato cultivars grown in México were characterized. Morphological characters included both 12 quantitative and three qualitative characters which were scored based on a nominal scale. Both markers demonstrated genetic diversity among the potato cultivars and differentiated between them. However, the Mantel test showed low correlation between the morphological similarity matrix and the molecular one. Molecular markers completely discriminated between all 15 cultivars, while morphological markers were unable to discriminate among some cultivars. In order to improve efficiency of the genetic breeding programs, it is important to select lines based on genetic diversity and agro-morphological parameters, assisted with molecular markers.