Estimation of genetic diversity of sweet sorghum (Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench) genotypes as a bioethanol source using SSRs markers

Abstract

Sweet sorghum is a cereal crop that can potentially serve as a source for bioethanol production. This study aims to analyse the genetic diversity of promising genotypes of sweet sorghum at the molecular level. The genetic material consisted of 12 sweet sorghum genotypes. The genetic diversity estimated using 59 SSRs markers showed a polymorphism value of 0.48 and the coefficient of genetic diversity was classified as moderate. The unweighted pair group method arithmetic average (UPGMA) analysis assigned the tested genotypes into three major clusters with a similarity coefficient level of 0.596. This indicates that the genetic similarity of the tested genotypes is moderate to high. Eight unique loci were identified with the SSRs markers in six genotypes, which are considered to control high sugar traits.