Genetic diversity in sugarcane cultivars assesed by DNA markers and morphological traits

PERERA, M. F.; ARIAS, M. E.; COSTILLA, D.; LUQUE, C.; GARCÍA, M. B., RACEDO, J.; CUENYA, M. I.; FILIPPONE, M. P. AND CASTAGNARO, A. P.

Congreso; XXVIII ISSCT Congress; 2013

Better knowledge of sugarcane genetic diversity will provide useful information concerning genotypic value for breeding programs and should contribute to improving the use and conservation of genetic resources and the protection of sugarcane varieties by intellectual property rights. Morphological descriptors are traditional tools to characterise varieties; however, they vary phenotypically caused by environmental effects. Therefore, molecular markers are increasingly more important for genotype identification and diversity estimation due to their accuracy and abundance, and they are not affected by environment.  The aim of this research was to evaluate genotypes used as parental materials in the Breeding Program at Estación Experimental Agroindustrial Obispo Colombres (EEAOC), Argentina, using molecular markers (AFLP and SSR), morphological traits and comparing the data obtained with two statistical softwares (NTSys and InfoStat). All cultivars grouped in one main cluster of the dendrogram by both softwares used with at least 150 data points. Local Argentinean genotypes grouped together with US-varieties and no clear genetic differentiation was found, probably due to regular germplasm exchange. Although morphological traits reflected external resemblance only, the dendrogram topology was not modified with the molecular and morphological data. These results suggest that both characterisation methods should be used to estimate genetic diversity. Molecular markers should be included internationally for sugarcane variety protection.