Evaluation of sequence related amplified polymorphic markers for genetic characterization of mentha species.

The present investigation was carried out to find the genetic characterization of mentha species via Sequence-Related Amplified Polymorphism markers. Four mentha species, Menthe spicata, M. piperata, M. arvensis and M. longifolia, were investigated by a total of 21 combinations of SRAP markers. The average major allele frequency was 0.523 with a range of 0.25 to 0.75. The allele number ranged 2 to 4 with an average of 2.857. The least two number of alleles was observed in 4 different combinations while only one set of primers resulted in highest allele number. The average polymorphic information content was 0.517 with a minimum value of 0.304 and maximum value of 0.703. The UPGMA, based on Nei coefficient, clustered the four Menthe species into three. M. spicata and M. piperita showed a divergence from M. arvensis and M. longifolia and among themselves. The SRAP markers may thus represent an efficient marker for genetic characterization of Menthe species. These findings would help in diversity analysis of larger population of Menthe species using SRAP markers and on crop improvement.