Characterisation of genetic diversity and DNA fingerprinting of Australian chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.) cultivars using MFLP markers

Chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.) is one of the major grain legume crops in the world. In this study, the genetic diversity of 24 Australian chickpea cultivars released between 1987 and 2005 was investigated with microsatellite-anchored fragment length polymorphism (MFLP) DNA markers. Among the cultivars examined, 30 cultivar-specific markers were identified and all were unequivocally identified using the DNA fingerprints developed in this study. Most of the cultivars were grouped into two major clusters; cv. Flipper was separated from the rest based on total character differences of DNA polymorphism. The MFLP approach proved suitable in the analysis of genetic diversity among the chickpea cultivars studied and the genetic relationship identified will be useful for chickpea breeding programs in selecting parent materials.