Diversity among wild accessions of Bacopa monnieri (L.) Wettst. and their morphogenetic potential

Biochemical and molecular diversity among 14 accessions of Bacopa monnieri (L.) Wettst. collected from various locations of India was investigated. A significant variation was recorded in bacoside A contents of these accessions. A scatter plot of principle component analysis based on bacoside A contents clubbed these populations into two major groups and accession BM14 was placed separately. Similarly, about 35 % variations were detected in these populations based on combined data of random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) and inter simple sequence repeat (ISSR). Individually, ISSR markers detected higher variation (44.9 %) as compared to RAPD markers (23 %). Clustering based on molecular marker data grouped these accessions into two major groups and also placed accession BM14 as an out group. The shoot organogenic potential of leaf explants taken from microshoots and rooting of microshoots also varied among accessions. Maximum shoot organogenic potential was observed in accession BM5 and maximum rooting potential was observed in accessions BM1, BM2, BM7, BM10 and BM14. Present study is an important step for developing long-term strategy for conservation of this important medicinal herb.