DNA fingerprinting for identification and protection of elite sugarcane (Saccharum spp.) varieties

As sugarcane is vegetatively propagated through stem cuttings, there is uniformity and stability of the DNA fingerprints once generated. This has made DNA fingerprinting a reliable method of varietal identification in this crop. One of the major ways sugarcane industries would benefit from molecular markers is in the use of SSRs for cultivars identification. In this study, 16 elite clones of tropical and sub-tropical India viz Co 86032, Co 99004, Co 0118, Co 0209, Co 0218, Co 0237, Co 0238, Co 0241, Co 0314, Co 0403, Co 0409 ,Co 2001-09, Co 2001-13, Co 2001-15, Co 0239 and , Co 0240 were analyzed with twenty sugarcane specific STMS primers with high polymorphism information content. Analyses of the profiles generated on silver stained 8 % polyacrylamide gels led to the identification of unique bands for specific clones. The bands specific to each clone listed. For instance, Co 0118 a fast spreading variety in subtropical India could be identified by the presence of the bands viz. NKS25228 , NKS57805 and NKS 3340. The material used in this study are of recent origin and their DNA fingerprinting would provide proper varietal identification in the context of Plant Variety Protection, legitimacy testing and germplasm conservation and utilization in addition to quality assurance for delivery of new cultivars to the industry. Moreover, these clones being a gene pool for high yield, juice quality and resistance to various abiotic and biotic stresses, the fingerprints enable identification of more diverse clones for systematic utilization in hybridization programme to benefit development of genotypes with economic worthiness and tolerance to stress conditions.