Genetic Diversity of Local and Exotic Finger Millet [Eleusine coracana (L.) Gaertn.] Germplasm in Sri Lanka Revealed by SSRs

Finger millet is a highly valuable future crop consisting of vast genetic and genomic diversity. Genotypic analysis of 73 local and exotic finger millet accessions collected from the Plant Genetic Resources Center (PGRC) and farmer cultivars in Sri Lanka was carried out using 19 SSR markers. The PCR products were separated and visualized on a 6% polyacrylamide gel with staining. An average of 3.11 alleles per locus was observed for 12 polymorphic markers. The average Polymorphic Information Content (PIC) was 29%. The highest number of alleles per locus, the highest PIC, and the highest gene diversity were observed in the SSR marker UGEP24 followed by UGEP15. AC009304, AC007116, AC000927, TVFM-01 AC009311, AC000504, and AC007116 accessions showed five rare alleles for four SSR markers. Irrespective of the place of origin, the local and exotic accessions were grouped together in the dendrogram. Except for the farmer cultivars collected from Mahiyangana, other accessions collected from the same location/district were grouped in different main groups. The AC009304 with exotic origin exhibited the highest genetic distance from all the other accessions. The higher genetic diversity, observed within the district/ location and the presence of similar alleles among the local and exotic accessions are vital for systematic conservation of finger millet germplasm and utilization of trait-specific accessions in a breeding program of Sri Lanka.