Molecular and genetic diversity of groundnut (Arachis hypogaea L.) germplasm with dual-season phenotypic and biochemical traits using SSR markers
摘要
Groundnut (Arachis hypogaea L.) is vital for global edible oil production. For crop enhancement pre-breeding initiatives, estimating genetic diversity is essential. During Kharif-2023 (June to September) and Rabi 2023–24 (December to March) seasons, 48 genotypes for biometrical parameters were assessed. Fifty SSR (simple sequence repeat) markers were used to measure molecular diversity. Subpopulations I and II exhibited the highest net nucleotide distances (0.32), indicating significant genetic divergence, according to the results. Subpopulation I had the lowest heterozygosity with a Fst of 0.34, whereas subpopulation II had the highest heterozygosity (0.36). The genotypes were divided into two groups through morphological diversity analysis utilizing PCA and cluster analysis, in the first four components accounted for 74.84% of the variation. Two clusters were also found in the molecular data. In breeding efforts, three genotypes COG17066, COG18044, and COG2013 were found to be promising parents for enhancing oil content. These results offer valuable information for breeding plans and marker selection, contributing significantly to the genetic improvement of groundnut for enhanced oil quality and yield.