Use of RAPD markers to detect sex differences in Pandanus tectorius Parkinson, an important bioresource plant in Orissa, India

摘要

Pandanus tectorius Parkinson (= P.?fascicularis Lam.) is a dominant perennial dioecious plant of coastal areas of India. Aromatic inflorescences harvested from male plants constitute the raw material that supports a flourishing perfume industry confined to the Ganjam coast on the east coast of south Orissa. The plant is vegetatively propagated, and sex is only clear after 5–7 years when plants from stem cuttings start to flower. Early determination of the sex of the plant was examined through analysis of somatic chromosome compliment, genomic DNA content and random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) analysis in seven populations of P.?tectorius from the coast of Orissa. Whereas the chromosome complement (2n ?=?60) failed to reveal any differences, the 4C DNA amount indicated that the genome of female plants [6.15?pg?=?5935 mega base pair (Mbp)] was significantly larger than that of male plants (5.09?pg?=?4912?Mbp). Motivated by the perfume economy, local farmers presently look upon P.?tectorius as a cash crop and tend to conserve and propagate male genotypes of several populations along the coast of Ganjam. The two RAPD markers, 1150 and 600?bp, amplified with primers OPB-12 and OPN-18, respectively, may together be useful to conserve elite genotypes in natural populations of P.?tectorius.