EFFICIENT SCREENING OF AFLP PRIMER COMBINATIONS FOR EVALUATING GENETIC DIVERSITY AMONG CULTIVATED RUBBER (HEVEA BRASILIENSIS) CLONES

摘要

Multilocus amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP) markers are used in genetic mapping, diversity analysis and genotyping. Success of the technique mainly depends on the identification of the primer combinations for selective amplification. In this study a simple method was demonstrated to identify the potential primer combinations using a mini polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (PAGE) followed by silver staining. A modified silver staining protocol was developed to save time without compromising on the sensitivity. Further, the utility of the protocol in developing AFLP markers in rubber (Hevea brasiliensis) for assessment of genetic diversity among cultivated clones from different South East Asian rubber growing countries was demonstrated.