Background:
The classification of diversity in germplasm collections is important for plant breeding. The
repetitive element palindromic-polymerase chain reaction (rep-PCR) technique was used to investigate
inter-specific diversity within 17 species from the Euphorbiaceae family using REP and BOX primers.
Results:
The agglomerative cluster analysiswas used to evaluate the scoring data. BOX and REP gave amplification
with polymorphism of 98.84% and 100% respectively. REP marker demarcated between the subgenus peltatae.
Both markers confirmed
Jatropha tanjorensis
as a natural hybrid between
Jatropha gossypifolia
and
Jatropha curcas
. Five random sequences from the rep-PCR gels were chosen, cloned and sequenced. The blast results
demonstrated that the amplified products were from the mitochondrial genomes.
Conclusion:
The rep-PCR molecular tool can be used to characterize diversity in plants as they are suitable for
distinguishing eukaryotic genomes effectively.
