Molecular characterization of potato (Solanum tuberosum L.) genotypes using random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) and inter simple sequence repeat (ISSR) markers

19 random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) and five Inter-simple sequence repeat (ISSR) primers were used to characterize 35 potato accessions originating from Mexico, Europe and U.S.A, with the aim of generating information on the genetic diversity and relationship among the genotypes for better exploitation in breeding programs. A total of 222 and 82 loci were generated by the RAPD and ISSR primers, respectively. Both RAPD and ISSR primers revealed 81.45 and 82.98% polymorphism, respectively. Mantel test showed no correlation between RAPD and ISSR (0.27), RAPD and RAPD + ISSR (0.47) similarity matrices. However, a high level of correlation (0.74) was observed between ISSR and RAPD + ISSR similarity matrices. The ISSR marker was found to be more efficient compared to RAPD marker, thereby influencing more the consensus data. The use of consensus data generated more information related to genetic diversity in potato. RAPD and ISSR markers successfully differentiated between the potato accessions and subgrouped the genotypes based on origin. Information on genetic diversity and relationships will be useful in the selection of parents and mapping studies.