Abstract

Characterization of genetic resources maintained at genebanks has important implication for future utilization and collection activities. The objective of this study was to assess the level of genetic diversity, genetic structure and genetic distance, and to indirectly estimate the level of gene flow among populations of Ethiopian lentil landraces using intersimple sequence repeat (ISSR) marker. For this purpose, seeds of seventy landrace accessions collected from seven different administrative regions of Ethiopia were obtained from Inistitute of Biodiversity Conservation and grown at Sinana Agricultural Research Center (Bale-Robe, Ethiopia) on-station field plot. DNA was extracted from a bulk leaf sample of fifteen randomly selected seed-raised plants using a triple CTAB extraction technique. ISSR data were generated using four primers. The total genetic diversity (), the intrapopulation genetic diversity () and the interpopulation genetic diversity () were 0.175, 0.095 and 0.079, respectively. High intrapopulation genetic diversity was observed for Gonder, Shewa and Wello populations, while Arsi, Bale, Tigray and Gojam populations showed low intrapopulation diversity. There was high genetic differentiation (G_ST = 0.455) but intermediate gene flow level (Nm = 0.60) among populations. The genetic distance () between populations ranged from 0.012 – 0.228. Cluster analysis revealed two groups of Ethiopian lentil landrace populations. The results provide important baseline for future germplasm conservation and improvement programs.

Key words: Bulk sampling, gene flow, genetic differentiation, genetic distance, ISSR, genetic diversity and lentil landrace accessions.