Genetic diversity among Japanese cultivated sorghum assessed with simple sequence repeats markers

The objectives of this study were to determine the genetic diversity of Japanese cultivated sorghum (sorghum lines cultivated in Japan), using the simple sequence repeats (SSR) technology and to determine the diversity of sorghum breeding germplasm accessions and their relationship with Japanese cultivated sorghum. The cluster analysis of SSR data showed that Japanese cultivated sorghum showed a wide genetic background, but the lines from the same breeding station tended to have a close genetic background. Sorghum breeding germplasm accessions that included lines from ICRISAT, U.S.A., Japan, and improved lines (elite inbred lines) showed a narrower genetic background than Japanese Cultivated sorghum and were distinctly separated from them. An efficient method of using germplasm as a genetic resource is proposed.