Genetic diversity of Plantago ovata Forsk. through RAPD markers

Genetic variability of 15 sets of Plantago ovata Forsk. studied using 11 arbitrary oligonucleotide primers. Among the 90 DNA fragments produced 71 fragments were found to be polymorphic. The mean number of polymorphic bands per primer among 15 Plantago ovata genotypes was 6.45. The higher polymorphism (90.00%) was exhibited by primer OPF-17, while the lower polymorphism (60.00%) was detected by OPF-2. The genetic similarity matrix from RAPD data for 15 genotypes was calculated based on Jaccard's coefficients of similarity ranged from 0.45 to 0.80. UPGMA cluster analysis reveals that the 15 genotypes were clustered in to three clusters. Genetically distinct genotypes identified using RAPD markers could be potential sources of germplasm for Isabgol improvement.