Understanding genetic diversity is a main key for crop improvement and genetic resource management. In this study, we aim to evaluate the genetic diversity of the released Malaysian rice varieties using single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) markers. A total of 46 released Malaysian rice varieties were genotyped using 1536 SNP markers to evaluate their diversity. Out of 1536 SNPs, only 932 SNPs (60.7%) represented high quality alleles, whereas the remainder either failed to amplify or had low call rates across the samples. Analysis of the 932 SNPs revealed that a total of 16 SNPs were monomorphic. The analysis of the SNPs per chromosome revealed that the average of the polymorphic information content (PIC) value ranged from 0.173 for chromosome 12 to 0.259 for chromosome 11, with an average of 0.213 per locus. The genetic analysis of the 46 released Malaysian rice varieties using an unweighted pair group method with arithmetic mean (UPGMA) dendrogram revealed the presence of two major groups. The analysis was supported by the findings from the STRUCTURE analysis which indicated the ∆K value to be at the highest peak at K = 2, followed by K = 4. The pairwise genetic distance of the shared alleles showed that the value ranged from 0.000 (MR159–MR167) to 0.723 (MRIA–Setanjung), which suggested that MR159 and MR167 were identical, and that the highest dissimilarity was detected between MRIA 1 and Setanjung. The results of the study will be very useful for the variety identification, the proper management and conservation of the genetic resources, and the exploitation and utilisation in future breeding programmes.

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The assessment of genetic diversity is essential for the conservation and breeding purposes. This study aimed to assess and evaluate the genetic diversity of 116 accessions of mango (Mangifera indica) germplasm using microsatellite markers. The DNA was extracted from young fresh leaf before genotyping using microsatellites to determine the allele size. The analysis of 20 polymorphic microsatellite markers revealed a total of 122 alleles ranging from two (MiIIHR10, MiIIHR21, and MiIIHR25) to 11 alleles per locus (MiIIHR28 and MiIIHR30) with an average of 6.1. The mean polymorphic information content (PIC) value was 0.4585 which ranged between 0.0081 (MiIIHR10) to 0.9573 (MiIIHR28). The UPGMA dendrogram indicated that the accessions were divided into two major clusters, which were divided into several sub-clusters based on their genetic distance matrix values. Some accessions were highly similar to each other, probably due to the duplication of collected accessions or insufficient microsatellite markers to differentiate them. The analysis of the population structure of the individuals also showed two subpopulations, suggesting that the accessions could be separated into two groups, which supported the generated dendrogram. The findings of this study facilitate improved conservation management of the germplasm and help to find strategies for future breeding activities.

The trend of microsatellite marker discovery and development revolved as a result of the advancement of next generation sequencing (NGS) technology as it has developed numerous microsatellites within a short period of time at a low cost. This study generated microsatellite markers using RAD sequencing technologies for the understudied Nephelium lappaceum . A total of 1403 microsatellite markers were successfully designed, which consisted of 853 di-, 525 tri-, 17 tetra-, 5 penta-, and 3 hexanucleotide microsatellite markers. Subsequently, selection of 39 microsatellites was made for the evaluation of genetic diversity of the selected 22 rambutan varieties. Twelve microsatellites, which exhibited high call rates across the samples, were used to assess the diversity of the aforementioned rambutan varieties. The analysis of 12 microsatellites revealed the presence of 72 alleles and six alleles per locus in average. Furthermore, the polymorphic information content (PIC) value ranged from 0.326 (NlaSSR20) to 0.832 (NlaSSR32), which included an average of 0.629 per locus, while the generated Neighbour Joining dendrogram showed two major clusters. The pairwise genetic distance of shared alleles exhibited a range of values from 0.046 (R134↔R170) to 0.818 (R5↔R170), which suggested highest dissimilarity detected between R5 and R170. Notably, these research findings would useful for varietal identification, proper management and conservation of the genetic resources, and exploitation and utilization in future breeding programs.

Assessments of genetic diversity have been claimed to be significantly efficient in utilising and managing resources of genetic for breeding programme. In this study, variations in genetic were observed in 65 pineapple accessions gathered from germplasm available at Malaysian Agriculture Research and Development Institute (MARDI) located in Pontian, Johor via 15 markers of simple sequence repeat (SSR). The results showed that 59 alleles appeared to range from 2.0 to 6.0 alleles with a mean of 3.9 alleles per locus, thus displaying polymorphism for all samples at a moderate level. Furthermore, the values of polymorphic information content (PIC) had been found to range between 0.104 (TsuAC035) and 0.697 (Acom_9.9), thus averaging at the value of 0.433. In addition, the expected and the observed heterozygosity of each locus seemed to vary within the ranges of 0.033 to 0.712, and from 0.033 to 0.885, along with the average values of 0.437 and 0.511, respectively. The population structure analysis via method of delta K (ΔK), along with mean of L (K) method, revealed that individuals from the germplasm could be divided into two major clusters based on genetics (K = 2), namely Group 1 and Group 2. As such, five accessions (Yankee, SRK Chalok, SCK Giant India, SC KEW5 India and SC1 Thailand) were clustered in Group 1, while the rest were clustered in Group 2. These outcomes were also supported by the dendrogram, which had been generated through the technique of unweighted pair group with arithmetic mean (UPGMA). These analyses appear to be helpful amongst breeders to maintain and to manage their collections of germplasm. Besides, the data gathered in this study can be useful for breeders to exploit the area of genetic diversity in estimating the level of heterosis.