ISSR-PCR approach as a means of studying genetic variation in moth bean (Vigna aconitifolia (Jacq.) Marechal)

Moth bean (Vigna aconitifolia (Jacq.) Marechal) is considered as one of the underutilised food legume vis-avis the Indian sub-continent. The seeds of this legume are a rich source of soluble proteins for nutrition. PCR-based marker characterizations for assessing genetic diversity are almost negligible in this crop. Present investigation, there fore, employed inter simple sequence repeat (ISSR) markers to assess the genetic diversity amongst 25 accessions. The di and penta nucleotide repeat markers showed higher polymorphism on amplification than those observed using trinucleotide markers. ISSR marker UBC-811 detected 36.15% polymorphism while UBC-879 detected 61.03% with an average of 9.7% on each primer. Based on dendrogram analysis, a logical similarity be tween molecular data and geographical origin was corroborated. The accessions cultivated in west ern coast of India were closely related than north-western and arid regions of India. The accessions like Maru, Jadiya and Jawala can be recommended as parents for further breeding pro grammes to procure additional variation complexes in moth bean genetic stocks.