GENETIC DIVERSITY OF WILD AND CULTIVATED Mucuna pruriens (L.) DC. ACCESSIONS ANALYZED USING THIRTY MORPHO-AGRONOMICAL CHARACTERS

Genetic diversity and relatedness among 31 wild and 9 cultivated Mucuna pruriens accessions collected from diverse eco-climatic regions in India were evaluated using 30 morpho-agronomical characters. The experiments were carried by growing the plants in Randomized Complete Block Design (RCBD) in four replications for two seasons. The results of PCA for 22 quantitative and 8 qualitative characters indicated that the first two PCs together explained 65.18% and 67.50% of the total variation respectively, which were drawn across a range of traits. Cluster analysis demonstrated on the whole high morphological diversity (63.05%) amongst wild and cultivated accessions and low diversity (36.95%) within cultivated accessions. Analysis of six yield traits based on LSD5% values revealed distinct genotypes under each category which are of potential value in breeding programs. Low morphological diversity within cultivated accessions emphasizes the need for expanding its genetic base in India

Genetic mapping and QTL analysis of agronomic traits in Indian Mucuna pruriens using an intraspecific F₂ population

Mucuna pruriens is a well-recognized agricultural and horticultural crop with important medicinal use. However, antinutritional factors in seed and adverse morphological characters have negatively affected its cultivation. To elucidate the genetic control of agronomic traits, an intraspecific genetic linkage map of Indian M. pruriens has been developed based on amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP) markers using 200 F 2 progenies derived from a cross between wild and cultivated genotypes. The resulting linkage map comprised 129 AFLP markers dispersed over 13 linkage groups spanning a total distance of 618.88 cM with an average marker interval of 4.79 cM. For the first time, three QTLs explaining about 6.05–14.77% of the corresponding total phenotypic variation for three quantitative (seed) traits and, eight QTLs explaining about 25.96% of the corresponding total phenotypic variation for three qualitative traits have been detected on four linkage groups. The map presented here will pave a way for mapping of genes/QTLs for the important agronomic and horticultural traits contrasting between the parents used in this study.</p