Microsatellite markers for determining genetic identities and genetic diversity among jute cultivars

DNA fingerprint was generated using jute specific SSR markers on 10 jute cultivars from two Corchorus species (C. olitorius and C. capsularis) and the genetic relatedness among the cultivars was estimated. A total of 106 alleles were identified using 23 primer pairs among the 10 cultivars with an average of 4.61 ± 1.92 alleles per locus, and a mean genetic diversity of 0.68±0.16. Four C. olitorius cultivars could be easily distinguished with 6 markers using 5 primer pairs and six C. capsularis cultivars with 7 markers using 6 primer pairs. The UPGMA analysis enabled the grouping of the cultivars into two major clusters, which matched with the known information on jute. This experiment provides proof that in spite of low levels of genetic polymorphisms among jute cultivars, SSR markers can reliably distinguish among them. This finding reinforces the utility of SSR primers for providing unique genetic identities or fingerprints of various jute cultivars.