Geographic Pattern of Genetic Diversity Among 43 Ethiopian Mustard(Brassica carinata A. Braun) Accessions as Revealed by RAPD Analysis

As an oilseed crop, the cultivation of Ethiopian mustard (Brassica carinata) is restricted only to Ethiopia. Even though geographic diversity is a potent source of allelic diversity, the extent of genetic diversity among germplasm material of Ethiopian mustard from different countries has not been assessed. Forty-three accessions, comprising 29 accessions from eight different geographic regions of Ethiopia and 14 exotic accessions from Australia, Pakistan, Spain, and Zambia were analysed for their genetic diversity using random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) technique. A set of 50 primers yielded a total of 275 polymorphic bands allowing an unequivocal separation of every Ethiopian mustard accession. The usefulness of the 50 RAPD primers in measuring heterozygousity and distinguishing accessions was variable such that polymorphic information content (PIC) varied from 0.05 to 0.40, band informativeness (BI) from 0.05 to 0.65 and primer resolving power (RP) from 0.15 to 6.83. Jaccard's similarity coefficients ranged from 0.44 to 0.87 indicating the presence of a high level of genetic diversity. On the average, Australian and Ethiopian accessions were the most similar while, Spanish and Zambian accessions were the most distant ones. Cluster analysis grouped the 43 accessions into four groups, which has quite a high fit (r = 0.80) to the original similarity matrix. With no prior molecular information, the RAPD technique detected large genetic diversity among the 43 accessions from five different countries and their grouping by dendrogram and principal coordinate analysis (PCoA) was inclined towards geographic differentiation of RAPD markers. Conversely, RAPD differentiation along geographic origin was not apparent within the Ethiopian accessions.     

A study of genetic diversity of sesame (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Sesamum indicum</Emphasis> L.) in Vietnam and Cambodia estimated by RAPD markers

Sesame (Sesamum indicum L.) is a traditional oil crop cultivated throughout South East Asia. To estimate the genetic diversity of this crop in parts at the region, 22 sesame accessions collected in Vietnam and Cambodia were analyzed using 10 RAPD markers. The 10 primers generated 107 amplification products of which 88 were polymorphic fragments (83%). Genetic diversity of all populations was H_t = 0.34 when estimated by Nei’s genetic diversity and species diversity was H′_sp = 0.513 when estimated by Shannon diversity index. Genetic distance ranged from 0.03 to 0.43, with a mean genetic distance of 0.23. The unweighted pair group method with arithmetic averages (UPGMA) cluster analysis for the 22 accessions divided the material in four groups. The dendrogram revealed a clear division among the sesame accessions based on their geographical region. Interestingly, some geographically distant accessions clustered in the same group, which might indicate the human factor involved in the spreading of sesame varieties. The high level of polymorphism shown suggests that RAPD techniques can also be useful for the selection of parents in sesame (Sesamum indicum L.) breeding program and for cultivar differentiation.     

Analysis of genetic diversity in Piper nigrum L. using RAPD markers

RAPD analysis was conducted in 22 cultivars of P. nigrum(black pepper) from South India and one accession each of P. longum and P. colubrinum. Twenty-four primers generated 372 RAPD markers of which 367 were polymorphic. Jaccard's similarity between pairs of accessions ranged between 0.11 and 0.66 with a mean of 0.38. Among P. nigrum cultivars, the similarity ranged between 0.20 and 0.66 and the mean was 0.42. The existence of wide genetic diversity as revealed in the present study is supported by earlier reports of extensive inter- and intrapopulation morphological variability in pepper cultivars from South India. UPGMA dendrogram and PCO plot revealed P. colubrinum to be most distant of the three species. Genetic proximity among P. nigrum cultivars could be related to their phenotypic similarities or geographical distribution. Greater divergence was observed among landraces than among advanced cultivars. Landraces grown in southern parts of coastal India and those grown in more northern parts were grouped in separate clusters of the dendrogram.     

Analysis of genetic diversity in Indian taro [Colocasia esculenta (L.) Schott] using random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) markers

Taro [Colocasia esculenta (L.) Schott] germplasm accessions collected from different parts of India were subjected to RAPD (Random Amplified Polymorphic DNA) analysis to assess the genetic diversity prevalent and also to test the genetic basis of morphotypic classification. Thirteen random decamer primers out of the 22 tested were used to analyse 32 taro accessions belonging to 28 morphotypes. Three out of these thirteen primers analysed showed 100 per cent polymorphism. Per cent polymorphism varied from 60 to 100 among the polymorphic primers. High genetic diversity was revealed as the similarity coefficient values ranged from 0.50 to 0.98. No two accessions analysed in the present study showed a similarity coefficient value of one thereby indicating their distinctness and presence of high genetic diversity in Indian taro germplasm. Dendrogram obtained from UPGMA analysis grouped 32 accessions in four clusters and three accessions were placed as outliers. Clustering pattern did not show any strict relationship with geographical distribution, morphotype classification and genotypic diversity. Further, accessions classified, as belonging to the same morphotypic group did not always cluster together. Presence of a very close genepool of the wild, weedy and cultivated forms with extreme levels of phenotypic and genotypic variation is suggested as the reason for high genetic diversity reported. Usefulness of DNA markers such as RAPD in characterising and assessing the genetic diversity in Indian taro germplasm is hereby demonstrated.     

RAPD and ISSR fingerprinting in cultivated chickpea (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Cicer arietinum</Emphasis> L.) and its wild progenitor <Emphasis Type="Italic">Cicer reticulatum</Emphasis> Ladizinsky

Detection of genetic relationships between 19 chickpea cultivars and five accessions of its wild progenitor Cicer reticulatum Ladizinsky were investigated by using RAPD and ISSR markers. On an average, six bands per primer were observed in RAPD analysis and 11 bands per primer in ISSR analysis. In RAPD, the wild accessions shared 77.8% polymorphic bands with chickpea cultivars, whereas they shared 79.6% polymorphic bands in ISSR analysis. In RAPD analysis 51.7% and 50.5% polymorphic bands were observed among wild accessions and chickpea cultivars, respectively. Similarly, 65.63% and 56.25% polymorphic bands were found in ISSR analysis. The dendrogram developed by pooling the data of RAPD and ISSR analysis revealed that the wild accessions and the ICCV lines showed similar pattern with the dendrogram of RAPD analysis. The ISSR analysis clearly indicated that even with six polymorphic primers, reliable estimation of genetic diversity could be obtained, while nearly 30 primers are required for RAPD. Moreover, RAPD can cause genotyping errors due to competition in the amplification of all RAPD fragments. The markers generated by ISSR and RAPD assays can provide practical information for the management of genetic resources. For the selection of good parental material in breeding programs the genetic data produced through ISSR can be used to correlate with the relationship measures based on pedigree data and morphological traits to minimize the individual inaccuracies in chickpea.     

Genetic diversity within a range of cultivars and landraces of flax (Linum usitatissimum L.) as revealed by RAPDs

Analysis of the extent and distribution of genetic diversity incrop plants is essential for optimizing sampling and breedingstrategies. We used random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD)markers to assess genetic diversity and relationships in 22 Canadiancultivars, 29 selected world cultivars and 10 landraces of flax(Linum usitatissimum L.). RAPDvariation was generally low and more variation was detected among,than within, the investigated flax accessions. Based on 53 variableRAPD loci observed for the 61 accessions, the landraces had a lowerproportion of fixed recessive RAPD loci (0.427) (i.e.,more genetic variation) than all of the flax cultivars examined(0.492). The linseed cultivars had a lower proportion ofrecessive loci (0.469) than the fiber flax cultivars(0.529). Canadian linseed cultivars had a lower proportionof recessive loci (0.465) than the selected world flaxcultivars (0.512). A trend was also observed that the rateof loss in genetic variation in Canadian flax breeding programs overthe last fifty years was approximately two variable loci per 100 lociper 10 years. Clustering analyses based on similarity estimatesshowed that the fiber cultivars were more related (or similar toeach other) and were classified as a homogeneous group. All ofthe linseed cultivars were clustered in diverse groups with the ninelandrace accessions. Implications of these findings for flax breedingand germplasm management are discussed.     

The genetic characterization of Turkish watermelon (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Citrullus lanatus</Emphasis>) accessions using RAPD markers

Genetic diversity of the Turkish watermelon genetic resources was evaluated using different Citrullus species, wild relatives, foreign landraces, open pollinated (OP) and commercial hybrid cultivars by RAPD markers. The germplasm was consisted of 303 accessions collected from various geographical regions. Twenty-two of 35 RAPD primers generated a total of 241 reproducible bands, 146 (60.6%) of which were polymorphic. Based on the RAPD data the genetic similarity coefficients were calculated and the dendrogram was constructed using UPGMA (Unweighted pair-group method with arithmetic average). Cluster analysis of the 303 accessions employing RAPD data resulted in a multi-branched dendrogram indicating that most of the Turkish accessions belonging to var. lanatus of Citrullus lanatus (Thunb.) Matsum et Nakai were grouped together. Accessions of different Citrullus species and Praecitrullus fistulosus (Stocks) Pangalo formed distant clusters from C. lanatus var. lanatus. Among 303 accessions, a subset of 56 accessions was selected representing different groups and a second dendrogram was constructed. The genetic similarity coefficients (GS) within the Turkish accessions were ranged from 0.76 to 1.00 with 0.94 average indicating that they are closely related. Taken together, our results indicated that low genetic variability exist among the watermelon genetic resources collected from Turkey contrary to their remarkable phenotypic diversity.     

Genetic Diversity Among Brazilian Cultivars and Landraces of Tomato Lycopersicon Esculentum Mill. Revealed by RAPD Markers

Random amplified polymorphic DNA markers (RAPD) were used to estimate the variability of 35 tomato accessions (Lycopersicon esculentum Mill.). A total of 257 reproducibly scorable bands were obtained from 20 primers, 78.6% of which were polymorphic. The percentage distribution of RAPD markers shows a bimodal distribution, and the frequency of rare alleles is similar in commercial and landrace accessions. Genetic distances among accessions were calculated and a dendrogram showing the genetic relationships among them was constructed allowing for the separation of four groups. Twenty out of 23 Brazilian landraces fell within one group, whereas commercial cultivars were distributed in the four groups. AMOVA analysis of RAPD data showed that, despite the high within Brazilian landraces and commercial cultivars variation, these two groups are significantly different, indicating that landraces can be a source of variation for breeding programs.     

Analysis of genetic diversity in Turkish sesame (Sesamum indicum L.) populations using RAPD markers⋆

The genetic diversity of 38 cultivated populations of Sesamum indicum L. from four different regions of Turkey was estimated at the DNA level with the random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) technique. Sixty-one bands were obtained for all populations 78% of which were polymorphic. Analysis of molecular variance (AMOVA) was used to investigate the genetic diversity of the populations which yielded highly significant differences among populations within regions (91.9% of the total genetic diversity). According to AMOVA and Shannon's index that were performed separately for each region, the highest value of genetic variation was observed among Northwest region populations (CV = 7.7; H₀ = 0.304) and lowest in the Southeast regions' populations (CV = 2.6; H₀ = 0.068). Nei and Li's similarity index was calculated and phylogenetic tree was established using the neighbor-joining algorithm. This phenetic analysis grouped 35 of 38 accessions in six groups leaving three highly diverse accessions outside. Wagner phylogenetic method was used to assess the phylogenetic relationships among the populations. In the majority-rule consensus tree, only 7 of the 32 forks showed above 60% occurrence. Using Principal Coordinate Analysis (PCO) of the RAPD data set, the groups were clearly separated along the first three axis. These results indicate that RAPD technique is useful for sesame systematics, and should be valuable for the maintenance of germplasm banks and the efficient choice of parents in breeding programs.     

Genetic Diversity among the Germplasm Resources of the Genus <Emphasis Type="Italic">Houttuynia</Emphasis> Thunb. in China based on RAMP Markers

The genetic diversity of 70 Houttuynia Thunb. accessions from Sichuan, Chongqing, Guizhou and Jiangsu province in China were tested by using random amplified microsatellite polymorphism (RAMP) markers. All of the 43 primer combinations were found to amplify polymorphic products. A total of 304 products were amplified. Of which, 97.7 products were polymorphic. 6.9 polymorphic bands were amplified by each primer combination on average. The genetic similarity (GS) between the accessions within H. emeiensis and H. cordata were 0.660 and 0.575, respectively. The GS between two species was 0.525. The GS values between H. emeiensis and the H. cordata cytotype with the chromosome number of 36 was 0.559, higher than that between H. emeiensis and the cytotypes of H. cordata with other chromosome numbers. Within the species H. cordata, the genetic variation between cultivated and wild accessions was insignificant. The results of cluster analysis by using UPGMA method showed that all the tested accessions could be differentiated by RAMP markers, and classified into 11 groups. Many accessions with the same chromosome numbers could be classified together. The genetic diversity was more plentiful in mountainous and margin areas of the Sichuan Basin than at the bottom of the Basin and the highlands or hills surrounding it. It was concluded that there existed higher genetic diversity at the molecular level (RAMP markers) among the germplasm resources of the genus Houttuynia. The genetic relationships and phylogeny of the germplasm resources of Houttuynia were also discussed.     

Assessment of genetic variation in a working collection of Vigna vexillata (L.) A. Rich. by isozyme and RAPD analyses

Genetic variation based on isozyme and RAPD analyses was investigated in 47 and 34 accessions respectively of Vigna vexillata from different geographical origins and belonging to three botanical varieties. A total of 9 enzyme systems were studied, accounting for 14 putative loci, 8 of which were polymorphic. The analysis of genetic diversity revealed a low level of within accession variation (H_S=0.013), while between accession diversity (D_ST) was 0.120. Coefficient of gene differentiation (G_ST) was 0.905, indicating that most variation was among accessions. Nei's genetic distances were calculated on the basis of allelic frequencies and a UPGMA dendrogram was constructed. Twenty arbitrary 10-mer oligonucleotides were used in RAPD analysis. Amplification profiles disclosed a higher level of polymorphism than isozymes. Based on amplification patterns, the similarity index of Jaccard was calculated and a dendrogram constructed on the basis of the similarity matrix. The final clustering based on RAPD data was similar to the one obtained using isozyme allelic frequencies. The classification in botanical varieties did not reflect the allelic constitution of the different samples. On the other hand, referring to geographical origin, most accessions from Africa and from Latin America were distributed respectively in two distinct clusters in the dendrogram. This grouping might also reflect the differences observed in the germination behaviour of V. vexillata from the two continents.     

Genetic diversity in Sorghum bicolor(L.) Moench accessions from different ecogeographical regions in Malawi assessed with RAPDs

Genetic variation within and among several Sorghum populations from different agroecological zones in Malawi were investigated using random amplified polymorphic markers (RAPDs). DNA samples from individual plants were analyzed using 35 oligonucleotides of random sequence. Twenty five of these primers allowed amplifications of random polymorphic (RAPD) loci. Overall, 52% of the scored loci were polymorphic. Every accession was genetically distinct. The analysis of molecular variance revealed that the within-region (among accessions) variations accounted for 96.43% of the total molecular variance. Observed variations in allelic frequency was not related to agroecological differences. The degree of band sharing was used to evaluate genetic distance between accessions and to construct a phylogenetic tree. Further analysis revealed that the sorghum accessions analyzed were genetically close despite considerable phenotypic diversity within and among them. It is suggested that all the sorghum landraces currently available in Malawi should be conserved both ex situ and in situ to maintain the current level of genetic diversity.     

Analysis of genetic diversity in a sweet potato (Ipomoea batatas L.) germplasm collection from Tanzania as revealed by AFLP

Sweet potato (Ipomoea batatas L.) is the fifth most important crop in the developing countries after rice, wheat, maize and cassava. The amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP) method was used to study the genetic diversity and relationships of sweet potato accessions in the germplasm collection of Sokoine University of Agriculture, Morogoro and Sugarcane Research Institute, Kibaha, Tanzania. AFLP analysis of 97 sweet potato accessions using ten primer combinations gave a total of 202 clear polymorphic bands. Each one of the 97 sweet potato accessions could be distinguished based on these primer combinations. Estimates of genetic similarities were obtained by the Dice coefficient, and a final dendrogram was constructed with the un-weight pair-group method using arithmetic average. AFLP-based genetic similarity varied from 0.388 to 0.941, with a mean of 0.709. Cluster analysis using genetic similarity divided the accessions into two main groups suggesting that there are genetic relationships among the accessions. Principal Coordinate analysis confirmed the pattern of the cluster analysis. Analysis of molecular variance revealed greater variation within regions (96.19%) than among regions (3.81%). The results from the AFLP analysis revealed a relatively low genetic diversity among the germplasm accessions and the genetic distances between regions were low. A maximally diverse subset of 13 accessions capturing 97% of the molecular markers diversity was identified. We were able to detect duplicates accessions in the germplasm collection using the highly polymorphic markers obtained by AFLP, which were found to be an efficient tool to characterize the genetic diversity and relationships of sweet potato accessions in the germplasm collection in Tanzania.     

Diversity among landraces of Indian snapmelon (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Cucumis melo</Emphasis> var. <Emphasis Type="Italic">momordica</Emphasis>)

Diversity among 36 snapmelon landraces, collected from 2 agro-ecological regions of India (9 agro-climatic sub-regions), was assayed using RAPD primers, morphological traits of plant habit and fruit, 2 yield-associated traits, pest and disease resistance and biochemical composition (TSS, ascorbic acid, titrable acidity). Typical differences among accessions were observed in plant and fruit characteristics and snapmelon germplasm with high titrable acidity and possessing resistance to downy mildew, Cucumber mosaic virus, Zucchini yellow mosaic virus, Papaya ringspot virus, Aphis gossypii and Meloidogyne incognita was noticed in the collection. RAPD based grouping analysis revealed that Indian snapmelon was rich in genetic variation and region and sub-region approach should be followed across India for acquisition of additional melon landraces. Accessions of var. agrestis and var. momordica clustered together and there was a separate cluster of the accessions of var. reticulatus. Comparative analysis of the genetic variability among Indian snapmelons and an array of previously characterized reference accessions of melon from Spain, Israel, Korea, Japan, Maldives, Iraq, Pakistan and India using SSRs showed that Indian snapmelon germplasm contained a high degree of unique genetic variability which was needed to be preserved to broaden the genetic base of melon germplasm available with the scientific community. N. P. S. Dhillon and Ranjana contributed equally to this work and are considered the first authors.     

Genetic diversity in wild barley (Hordeum spontaneum C. Koch) in the Near East: a molecular analysis using Random Amplified Polymorphic DNA (RAPD) markers

We analyzed the genetic diversity in 88 genotypes from 20 populations of wild barley (Hordeum spontaneum C. Koch) from Israel, Turkey and Iran, by randomly amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD). Twenty two of the 33 primers used yielded scorable products with 1–11 polymorphic bands. No duplicate patterns were found except for four haplotypes.When the total genetic diversity was estimated, 75% of the variation detected was partitioned within the 88 genotypes and 25% among the populations. When variation between countries was assessed, no substantial differences were found, because most of the variation detected (97%) was partioned within the 20 populations and the remainder among countries. The results of this limited survey indicate that the extensive genetic diversity is present in natural stands of wild barley throughout the Fertile Crescent.     

Genetic variability evaluation in a Moroccan collection of barley, Hordeum vulgare L., by means of storage proteins and RAPDs

The genetic variation existing in a set of barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) landrace samples recently collected in Morocco was estimated. Two kinds of genetic markers, seed storage proteins (hordeins) and random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD), were used. Only six out of 31 landraces were subjected to RAPD analysis. Both kinds of markers, RAPD and storage proteins, yielded similar results, showing that the level of variation observed in Moroccan barley was high: all landraces showed variability; 808 different storage protein patterns (multilocus associations) were observed among 1897 individuals (2.32 seeds per association, on average) with an average of 43 multilocus associations per accession. In general, genetic variation within accessions was higher than between accessions. The 100 polymorphic RAPD bands generated by 21 effective primers were able to generate enough patterns to differentiate between uniform cultivars and even between individuals in variable accessions. One of the aims of this work was to compare the effectiveness of RAPD versus storage protein techniques in assessing the variability of genetic resource collections. On average hordeins were more polymorphic than RAPDs: they showed more alternatives per band on gels and a higher percentage of polymorphic bands, although RAPDs supply a higher number of bands. Although RAPD is an easy and standard technique, storage protein analysis is technically easier, cheaper and needs less sophisticated equipment. Thus, when resources are a limiting factor and considering the cost of consumables and work time, seed storage proteins must be the technique of choice for a first estimation of genetic variation in plant genetic resource collections.     

Analysis of genetic diversity and population structure of 135 dill (Anethum graveolens L.) accessions using RAPD markers

Dill (Anethum graveolens L.) leaf, seed and their essential oil are rich source of antioxidants. The plant is native in Southwest Asia and is cultivated in Europe, India and the United States. This study evaluated the genetic diversity structure of 135 accessions of A. graveolens from different continents, based on random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) markers. The selected 10 RAPD primers generated a total of 142 highly reproducible bands, among which 89 were polymorphic. Percentage of polymorphism varied from 41.17 % (OPB20) to 92.85 % (OPB15) with an average of 77.74 %. A relatively high genetic diversity was detected among all the accessions with the Nei’s genetic diversity (H) values ranged from 0.346 (OPB07) to 0.444 (OPB18) with a mean of 0.401. When estimated for Shannon’s information index (I), it has ranged from 0.530 (OPB12) to 0.652 (OPB18), the mean was observed as 0.581. The respective values of H and I were found to be the highest value for primer OPB18. Cluster analysis of RAPD data using UPGMA algorithm based on Nei’s genetic similarity matrix placed the 135 accessions into two main clusters. Although a number of groups can be identified, the clusters show little to no association with the geographic origin of the material. The implication of the results of this study in developing a strategy for the conservation and breeding of dill germplasm are discussed.     

Genetic diversity of Pakistan wheat germplasm as revealed by RAPD markers

Wheat breeding in Pakistan started in 1930s before partition in the United India and so far has released more than 68 cultivars, but no systematic analyses of the genetic diversity of Pakistan wheat have been made. Twenty Pakistan wheat cultivars released from 1933 to 2002 were examined for genetic diversity and relationships using random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) markers. Forty-two RAPD primers were applied and 184 polymorphic bands were generated for each cultivar. Most of the cultivars were genetically interrelated, although six of them displayed some genetic distinctness. The RAPD variation observed among these cultivars was low. Only 40.7% of the total scorable bands were polymorphic, and 26.1% of the polymorphic bands were observed most frequently (f = 0.95) among the 20 cultivars. The proportions of polymorphic bands for each cultivar ranged from 0.67 in ‘Yecora’ to 0.84 in ‘C-250’ with an average of 0.76. About 1.4% of the RAPD variation might have been fixed over the 69 years of wheat breeding, but such fixation was not statistically significant. These results are significant for future improvement and conservation of Pakistan wheat.     

Application of random amplified polymorphic DNA to study genetic diversity in Paspalum scrobiculatum L. (Kodo millet, Poaceae)

Summary Genetic diversity and patterns of geographic variation among collections of Paspalum scrobiculatum (kodo millet) and P. polystachyum were studied using molecular markers generated through the random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) method. A high level of polymorphism in RAPD markers was observed among the individual accessions, demonstrating the high genetic diversity of the crop. The markers obtained from the RAPD method were analyzed with the cluster analysis, principal coordinates and minimum spanning tree methods. Three major groups were resolved, one representing the African accessions, and two for the Indian accessions. The accessions of the north African kodo millet and P. polystachyum (considered conspecific with P. scrobiculatum) were quite distinct. The Australian kodo millet showed higher affinity to the African types. The study demonstrated that the RAPD technique can be applied to resolving degrees and patterns of genetic variation at the population and species levels, identifying cultivars, and defining gene pools of this crop.     

Genetic diversity and relationships among safflower (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Carthamus tinctorius</Emphasis> L.) analyzed by inter-simple sequence repeats (ISSRs)

Genetic diversity and relationships among 48 safflower accessions were evaluated using 22 inter-simple sequence repeats (ISSR) primers. A total of 429 bands were amplified, and 355 bands (about 82.7%) were polymorphic. Five to forty-one polymorphic bands could be amplified by each primer, with an average of 16.1 polymorphic bands per primer. The results showed that the polymorphism of the safflower germplasm was higher at the DNA level. All the 48 accessions could be distinguished by ISSR markers and were divided into 9 groups based on ISSR GS by using UPGMA method. The genetic relationships among the accessions from different continents were closer. Comparatively, the genetic diversity of the accessions originated from Asia was higher, from Europe assembled. The results also showed that the genetic variation of accessions from Indian and Middle Eastern safflower diversity centers were relatively higher. ISSR is an effective and promising marker system for detecting genetic diversity among safflower and give some useful information on its phylogenic relationships.