Molecular evaluation of genetic variability in wild populations of mulberry (<i>Morus serrata</i> Roxb.)

Abstract Sixteen populations of the wild mulberry, Morus serrata Roxb. , were analysed for their genetic diversity with the aim of using them in introgressive breeding programmes with cultivated relatives. Five genets from each population were collected from different natural populations of M. serrata present in Uttaranchal and Himachal Pradesh in India, and diversity of morpho‐anatomical traits and inter‐simple sequence repeat (ISSR) markers were studied. Significant amounts of genetic diversity were observed among these populations for morpho‐anatomical as well as DNA markers. The 17 ISSR primers generated a total of 95 DNA markers, 51 of which were polymorphic, revealing 67% polymorphism among the populations. The pair‐wise genetic distance, estimated from these DNA markers varied from 0.091 between Urgam‐3 and Kathpuria to 0.258 between Dakrakao‐1 and Dunda with an average genetic distance of 0.165. Clustering analysis grouped these 16 populations into three broad groups. The grouping showed a moderate correlation with the geographical distances. Based on the morphological traits and molecular genetic variability, plants of Urgam‐1, Bhowali farm, Nainitikar, Dunda or Korwa‐2 can be selected for breeding and conservation programmes.