SSR and AFLP markers reveal low genetic diversity in the biofuel plant Jatropha curcas in China

Globally, Jatropha curcas L. (Euphorbiaceae) holds much promise for producing biodiesel; it is cultivated in many tropical countries. In the South China Botanical Garden, a germplasm collection of J. curcas has been assembled on the basis of geographic location. However, this collection has not been characterized using molecular techniques associated with germplasm management and utilization. In this study, the genetic relationships of 58 J. curcas accessions were assessed based on simple sequence repeat (SSR) and amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP) analyses. Seventeen microsatellite markers were developed using the FIASCO (Fast Isolation by AFLP of Sequences Containing repeats) protocol; only one SSR primer was polymorphic with two alleles. The seven AFLP primer combinations amplified 70 polymorphic loci in total, 14.3% of which were polymorphic. The clustering of genotypes based on the AFLP markers shows that the genetic diversity of J. curcas in Guizhou was notably different from the other samples.