Evaluation of genetic relationships among botanical varieties of cultivated peanut (Arachis hypogaea L.) using AFLP markers

Forty-four accessions of cultivated peanut (Arachis hypogaea L.) representing sixbotanical varieties of two subspecies along with three accessions ofthe wild relative A. monticola Krapov et Rigoni were evaluated for their genetic relationships using theAFLP marker technology. Fifteen AFLP primer pairs (EcoRI/MseI) generated 28distinct polymorphic markers that were employed to develop uniqueprofiles of all accessions and to construct a phenogram. The resultsshowed that the botanical varieties aequatoriana and peruviana werecloser to subspecies hypogaea than subspeciesfastigiata Waldr. to which they belong, and the wildA. monticola was notdistinct from the cultivated A.hypogaea. Although the extent of geneticdiversity in peanut is low compared to many other crops, our studiesshow that by employing the AFLP approach, sufficient DNA variationcan be detected in the cultivated peanut germplasm to conductevolutionary studies.