Genetic studies of "noble cane" for identification and exploitation of genetic markers.

Forty genotypes (clones) of sugarcane, including elite lines, commercial cultivars of Saccharum officinarum and clones of S. barberi were fingerprinted with 50 SSR markers using a PCR-based marker assay. Nei's genetic distances for SSR data were determined and relationships between accessions were portrayed graphically in the form of a dendrogram. Genetic distance values ranging from 0.60 to 1.11 were observed among the 40 sugarcane accessions. The shortest genetic distance of 0.60 was seen between genotypes US-804 and US-130. These two genotypes differed from each other only in 10 bands, with 20 primers. The most dissimilar of the accessions were CP-77-400 and US-133, with a genetic distance of 1.11. SSR fingerprints can help sugarcane breeders to clarify the genetic pedigree of commercial sugarcane varieties and evaluate the efficiency of breeding methods.