Assessment of genetic diversity among mungbean accessions using morphological and molecular markers

Abstract:

A paradox of mungbean breeding is that despite India being the crop's centre of diversity, the genetic base of released varieties has been steadily narrowing. This research assessed genetic diversity among 40 mungbean accessions from seven Indian states using 12 quantitative morphological traits and 20 SSR molecular markers. Morphological analysis using Mahalanobis D² distance grouped accessions into four clusters, with inter-cluster distance ranging from 14.8 to 42.6. Molecular analysis with SSR markers detected 78 alleles with a mean Polymorphism Information Content (PIC) of 0.54. UPGMA clustering based on molecular data largely confirmed morphological groupings, with 82.5% concordance. Accessions from the Western Ghats region (Karnataka, Kerala) formed a distinct cluster with the highest within-group diversity. Crosses between clusters I and IV, which showed the maximum inter-cluster distance, are recommended for heterosis exploitation. The combined morphological-molecular approach provided a more complete diversity picture than either method alone.