GENETIC DIVERSITY OF BANANAS AND PLANTAINS (Musa spp.) DETERMINED BY RAPD MARKERS

The classification of germplasm and the identification of genotypes of bananas and plantains (Musa spp.) by traditional methods (morphology) are confusing, thus leading to duplicity and erroneous interpretations. Currently, the combination of morphological features with molecular tools has clarified the taxonomy and identification of Musacea genotypes. In this study, 22 accessions of bananas and plantains of different subgroups ("Cavendish", "Red", "Plantain", "Ibota" and "Silk") and some synthetic hybrids were morphologically and genetically characterized. These accessions belong to the germplasm bank of the Instituto Nacional de Investigaciones Forestales; Agricolas y Pecuarias located at Tecoman, Colima, Mexico. Ninety randomly amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) markers from the 22 accessions were identified, of which 83 were polymorphic. A correlation between the morphological classification and molecular diversity among the different subgroups was found. The dendrogram generated showed two groups: Group A had 10 accessions from the "Cavendish" subgroup plus the hybrid 'FHIA 03'. Group B clustered accessions belonging to subgroups "Red", "Plantain" and "Cavendish", as well as hybrids 'FHIA 01', 'FHIA 20', 'FHIA 21' and 'SH-3640'. Accessions 'Yangambi km 5' and 'Manzano', which belong to subgroups "Ibota" and "Silk" respectively, were not found in any of these two groups.