Estimation of Morphological and Molecular Variability in Induced Mutant Fennel (Foeniculum vulgare Mill.) Lines
Variability in induced Mutant Fennel Lines
Abstract
In the present study, M3 mutant lines generated from gamma radiation of widely adopted fennel cultivar Rajasthan Fennel-125 (RF- 125) was used. High variability was recorded for time of flowering, number of primary and secondary branches, number of umbels and umbellate/plant, number of seeds/umbel, plant height, days to maturity and seed yield/plant. Total of 24 diverse mutants were further selected for molecular characterization based on morphological diversity. The Random Amplified Polymorphic DNA (RAPD) analysis showed broad genetic diversity among the mutant lines. Total 73 loci were amplified in all 24 mutants and 23 loci were found polymorphic. Dendrogram showed similarity coefficient value in range of 0.00 to 0.88. The dendrogram divided the 24 mutants into four main clusters. The morphological and molecular study revealed that the mutants selected in the M2 generation showed variability at the genetic level for different essential traits of fennel.
