Assessment of genetic variation and species relationships in a collection of Lens using RAPD and ISSR [Inter-simple sequence repeats]

Abstract

The genetic variation of a collection of twenty-two Lens accessions was assessed using RAPD and ISSR markers. The collection included accessions of the cultivated lentil, Lens culinaris ssp. culinaris, and its wild ancestor L. c. ssp. orientalis, and the other wild species of the genus: L. odemensis, L. ervoides, L. nigricans, L. tomentosus, and L. lamottei. Both types of markers produced a relatively high number of polymorphic markers in the whole collection, although the degree of variation within the cultivated materials was lower. ISSR markers produced on average more bands and useful polymorphisms than RAPD markers. The Fitch-Margoliash dendrogram, based on Jaccard indices taking jointly RAPD and ISSR into account, showed that the cultivated materials were grouped according to their macro- and microsperma type and their geographical origin, and was compatible with the hypothesis of the existence of six different species in the genus Lens, with L. tomentosus being the closest species to L. culinaris.