Assessment of Genetic Variation in R. solanacearumStrains from Marathwada Region by RAPD

Abstract

The genetic variation of 20 strains of Ralstonia solanacearum isolated from four host plants was assessed by Random Amplification of Polymorphic DNA (RAPD) fingerprinting method. Based on their genomic fingerprint, the strains divided into two distinct groups. One group consisting of Turmeric and Banana isolates, second group consisting of Tomato and Brinjal isolates. The cluster analysis based on Jaccard similarity coefficient separated the 20 strains into two major clusters. Cluster I comprised of strains isolated from host plant Banana and Turmeric shared genetic similarity of 69%. Cluster II comprised of strains isolated from host plant Tomato and Brinjal shared genetic similarity of 54%. The RAPD analysis also revealed that genetic variation showed by strains of R. solanacearum is independent of geographical location but the marker grouped the strains based on the host specificity and later on the races identified. The primer selected were capable of distinguishing the strains based on host specificity geographical distribution.