Efficiency of RAPD, ISSR, iPBS, SCoT and phytochemical markers in the genetic relationship study of five native and economical important bamboos of North-East India

10 primers each of random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD), inter-simple sequence repeats (ISSR), inter primer binding site (iPBS) and start codon targeted (SCoT) were used to analyze genetic polymorphism and relationship between 50 genotypes of 5 economical important native bamboos (Bambusa cacharensis, B. mizorameana, Dendrocalamus manipureanus, D. hamiltonii and D. sikkimensis) of North-East India. The 40 different primers generated 111, 115, 116 and 138 polymorphic bands for RAPD, ISSR, iPBS and SCoT markers respectively. The comparative analysis of 4 marker systems based on polymorphic information content (PIC), effective multiplex ratio (EMR) and marker index (MI) values showed SCoT to be more informative with higher discriminating power than the other three markers. The correlation value (r) as determined by the Mantel test ranged from 0.60 (SCoT and RAPD) to 0.83 (iPBS and ISSR) indicating a high positive correlation between the markers. The close correspondence between the genetic matrices of RAPD, ISSR, iPBS and SCoT markers revealed the effectiveness of each marker system in determining the genetic relationship between bamboos. UPGMA (Unweighted Pair Group Arithmetic Mean Method) dendrograms generated from DNA marker analysis demonstrated species-specific clustering of different bamboo genotypes. Except for RAPD, the dendrograms of ISSR, iPBS and SCoT markers also showed a close association of bamboo genotypes based on geographical origin. Principal coordinate analysis (PCoA) revealed the distribution of different bamboo genotypes in accordance with the cluster analysis. The cluster grouping based on phytochemical study not only discriminated the different bamboo species but also illustrated a location-specific grouping of the genotypes. The bamboo clustering pattern derived from phytochemical analysis matched closely with the dendrograms generated by the DNA markers. The present investigation established the possibility of using a combined molecular and phytochemical marker approach to determine the genetic relationship between 5 native bamboos of North-East India with high precision.