Essential oil studies and RAPD markers in sUV-B treated Cymbopogon flexuosus (Nees ex Steud) wats

Abstract

The wild plants of Cymbopogon flexuosus (Nees ex Steud) Wats were subjected to sUV-B treatment to analyze essential oil variation and DNA polymorphism. Significant difference in essential oil yield and citral content was observed. Plants treated with sUV-B for different intervals of time (15min, 30min, 1h, 1.5h, 2.0h, 2.5h, 3.0h, 3.5h and 4.0h) along with control were subjected to RAPD analysis with 10 random decamer primers. Five primers (OPA-01, OPA-09, OPY-18, OPY-09 and OPG-10) produced polymorphism generating 57 amplicons, of which 27 were polymorphic and 30 were monomorphic in nature. Primer OPA-01 showed highest polymorphism (60%) and OPA-09 showed lowest polymorphism (12.5%). High genetic similarity was observed in treatment with 1.5h and 2.5h and least genetic similarity in treatment with 3.5h and control plants. Dendrogram constructed on genetic similarity coefficient showed two clusters viz., cluster I and II. The study indicates the significant variation at intraspecies level with respect to essential oil yield, citral content and DNA polymorphism in sUV-B treated plants which can be further exploited for developing high yielding chemotypes in C. flexuosus.