Analysis of genetic variability in two diploid Musa cultivars using RAPD

Twenty accessions of the sparsely cultivated diploid Musa cultivars Matti (AA) and Rasakadali (AB) were subjected to random amplified polymorphic DNA assay. A total of 14 random primers were used for the estimation of interand intracultivar variations. Out of 86 bands generated, 64 were polymorphic (74.4 % polymorphism). The cluster analysis grouped the cultivars into two major clusters: cluster I with 10 accessions of Matti and 2 of Rasakadali, and cluster II comprising the remaining 8 accessions of Rasakadali. The coefficient of genetic similarity (GS) varied from 0.73 to 0.99, suggesting a low level of intercultivar variation. The accessions of Rasakadali with mean GS of 0.89 were genetically more diverse than those of Matti (GS = 0.93).