A study on the genetic diversity of foxtail millet cultivars by SSR markers.

Forty foxtail millet varieties(37 from China,3 from India and Russia) were selected for genetic diversity study by 37 SSR markers.In all 228 alleles were detected for the 37 SSR markers,the allele numbers per locus ranged from 3 to 12,on average 6.16 alleles per locus.The average PIC value per locus was 0.697.The correlation among PIC,allele numbers and numbers of repeat unit for the 37 SSR markers was analyzed by SAS(version 8.0) software.The results showed that extremely significant correlation between PIC and allele numbers was existent,with the coefficient of correlation reaching 0.802(P0.01),the correlation between PIC and numbers of repeat unit was also significant,with the coefficient of correlation reaching 0.429(P0.01).Through clustering of the 40 foxtail millet cultivars based on SSR markers,five groups were obtained at a genetic similar index of 0.79.Almost all the breeding varieties from different regions except Shanxi Province were grouped together.The clustering groups of most landrace varieties were consistent with ecotypes in some extent.