The Use of LP-RAPD for Assessing Genetic Relatedness among Selected Banana Cultivars

LP-RAPD (Long primer Random Amplified Polymorphic DNA) analysis was carried out on eight banana cultiuars namely Mas (AA), Berangan (AAA), Raj a (AA B), Rastali (AA B), Awak (ABB), Nipa h (BBB), Kapas (AAB) and Nangka (AAB) to assess their genetic relationships. Twenty five individuals of each cultivar were collected f rom the Malaysian states of Perak, Selangot; Melaka and Negeri Sembilan. Five long-primers, namely PER A3, ERlCIR, PUCMI3F, BOXAIR and PERA6 wereselected to amplify thegenomic DNA. TheDNA banding patterns wereobserved and ana lyzed. The results showed that the largestfragment was 2500 bp and the smallest 100 bp. The ERlC1R was found to bethe most polymorphic primer (26.5 %) whilst PERA6 was the leastpolymorphic (20.8%). The dendrogram revealed three major groups. Group I consisted of Berangan, Rastali, Mas, Nangka and Raja cultiuars. Group II included Kapas and Awak, which had the lowestgenetic distance (0.3633) and are known as plantains by sharing the Bgenol)pe. Groups I and II wereclusteredclosely togetherwith a genetic distance of0.3961 indicating a close relationship between the two groups. The Nipah (BBB) cultivar alone was distinctly separatedfrom both Groups I and II with a genetic distance of o.795. Although all cultiuars differ morphologically the findings agree with the degree of shared genotypes, A or B, among the cultiuars.