UTILITY OF SSRs FOR DETERMINING GENETIC SIMILARITIES AND RELATIONSHIPS IN SACCHARUM AND ITS RELATED GENERA BY

Simple sequence repeats (SSRs), when resolved using agarose gels, may be a viable and costeffective alternative to RFLPs and isozymes. Genotypes of Saccharum and its related genera were assayed for polymorphisms at 100 SSR marker loci. The alleles identified provide data for estimating genetic similarity among the genotypes. Of the 100 primer pairs, 32 pairs produced distinguishable and polymorphic bands. The pattern of genetic divergence revealed by the SSR polymorphisms of 32 primer pairs was consistent with known pedigrees. The utility of polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-based markers such as SSRs for measuring genetic similarities and relationships equals or exceeds that of RFLP markers, a property that may prove a valuable asset for sugarcane breeding programs.