Molecular characterization of somaclonal variants in pigeonpea

摘要

Increasing relevance of molecular characterization using modified PCR technique has enhanced the prospects of pigeonpea improvement programmes. Seeds of the sexual derivatives of 13 best performing somaclonal variants of pigeonpea CV ICPL 87 were evaluated for improvements in qualitative and quantivative traits. The somaclonal variants could be distinguished at the molecular level by RAPD analysis using specific arbitrary sequences of 19 decamer primers. A high level of polymorphism was evident with the primer OPA-20 whereas a low level was observed with the primer OPA-07 and these served as molecular marders for specific somaclonal variants, thereby providing a method for selecting somaclones with better agronomic performance.