Evaluation of Genetic Diversity in Some Sunflower Hybrids under republic of Moldova Conditions

Maria Duca, Ina Bivol, Steliana Clapco

Universitatea de Stat din Moldova, Chișinău, Republica Moldova

Keywords: sunflower, hybrids, genetic diversity, quantitative traits, RAPD analysis.

 Abstract: The sunflower germplasm collections have a hidden reserve of new genes or their combinations, including the important traits for breeding in the global climate change. The knowledge of genetic diversity is important for the successful implementation of breeding programs in different climatic zones.
In order to select sunflower genotypes characterized by valuable traits and high productivity in different climate conditions of the Republic of Moldova, some sunflower hybrids with different origins were evaluated during 2020-2022.
The morphological traits and productivity of analyzed hybrids varied significantly, depending on the genotype, its origin and also the zonal and annual climatic conditions. According to the most of analyzed traits 2 hybrids have proven to be the most promising in the context of ensuring the sustainable management of agricultural ecosystems in the agroclimatic conditions of the Republic of Moldova.
Genetic diversity of sunflower hybrids was studied using RAPD technique. The high values of observed number of alleles (Na=1.57), effective number of alleles (Ne=1.39), Nei's gene diversity (H=0.23), Shannon's information index (I=0.33), total gene diversity (Ht=0.23), percentage of polymorphic loci (PPL=57%), revealed a high variability of RAPD fragment sequences in the studied hybrids. The specific fragments detected through RAPD primers are in the particular interest as hybrid- or species-specific markers, indicating the presence of wider variability in hybrid populations and may be used as molecular markers in genotyping or certification of sunflower hybrids. Moreover, according to the statistical analysis on the efficiency and informativeness of the RAPD primers by means of differentiation coefficients (PIC, hj, Rp, MI and EMR), 4 the most effective primers were found: OPG10, OPG6, OPA11, OPB12.

It was revealed that the investigated hybrids represent a relatively heterogeneous genetic material.

This study was funded by the project of the State Program 20.80009.5107.01.