Analysis of Genetic Resource in Zoysia spp.2. Evaluation of Genetic Diversity in Zoysiagrass Indigenous to Southwest Islands of Japan Based on Simple Sequence Repeat Markers

Abstract

We conducted a study of genetic diversity in zoysiagrass indigenous to Southwest Islands of Japan based on simple sequence repeat (SSR) markers. Forty-one lines of zoysiagrass, which included 19 Zoysia matrella, 18 Z. tenuifolia and 4 cultivars (Asagake: Z.japonica, Emeralda: Z.japonica×Z.tenuifolia, Tottori-korai: Z matrella, Velvet: Z. tenuifolia), were used in this study. From 12 SSR markers used, a total of 155 SSR bands were scored. The number of putative alleles ranged from 6 to 22, with average value of 12.9.The polymorphic information contents (PIC) of Z.matrella and Z.tenuifolia were 0.79 and 0.72, respectively. Z.matrella had significantly higher PIC than Z.tenuifolia (p=0.02). Cluster analysis based on the 155 SSR bands revealed that the 41 lines were classified into 7 groups.