Evaluation of genetic relationships among botanical varieties of cultivated peanut (Arachis hypogaea L.) using AFLP markers

Forty-four accessions of cultivated peanut (Arachis hypogaea L.) representing six botanical varieties of two subspecies along with three accessions of the wild relative A. monticola Krapov et Rigoni were evaluated for their genetic relationships using the AFLP marker technology. Fifteen AFLP primer pairs (EcoRI/MseI) generated 28 distinct polymorphic markers that were employed to develop unique profiles of all accessions and to construct a phenogram. The results showed that the botanical varieties aequatoriana and peruviana were closer to subspecies hypogaea than subspecies fastigiata Waldr. to which they belong, and the wild A. monticola was not distinct from the cultivated A. hypogaea. Although the extent of genetic diversity in peanut is low compared to many other crops, our studies show that by employing the AFLP approach, sufficient DNA variation can be detected in the cultivated peanut germplasm to conduct evolutionary studies.