AFLP analysis of Genetic diversity and Phylogenetic relationships of Vigna radiata (L) Wilczek

Among the important pulse-yielding plants Vigna radiata is important. In the Indian subcontinent, it is an essential source of dietary protein particularly in the vegetarian population. It contains abundant nutrients with biological activities. Soaked seeds are eaten as a good source of protein and mature seeds are cooked or can be sprouted for human consumption. Mung beans and its sprouts contain chemical constituents like flavonoids, phenolic acids, organic acids, amino acids, carbohydrates, and lipids. It is related to different biological activities like antioxidant, antimicrobial, antitumor, anti-inflammatory, anti-diabetic, and antihypertensive effects, etc. The seeds are a traditional source of cures for paralysis, rheumatism, coughs, fevers, and liver ailments. As a green manure or cover crop, the plant can be grown, enriching the soil with the nitrogen formed on its roots. The powerful Amplified Fragment Length Polymorphism (AFLP) is a molecular marker used for a variety of applications like assessing genetic diversity within species or among closely related species, inferring population-level phylogenies, generating genetic maps, and determining the relatedness among cultivars. AFLP has become extremely beneficial in the study of taxa including bacteria, fungi, and plants, where much is still unknown about the genomic makeup of various organisms. A study was made to assess the genetic diversity and phylogenetic relationships of a set of five varieties of Vigna radiata (L) Wilczek using the AFLP technique. Five different varieties of Vigna radiata viz. B1, TARM 2, PDM 84, TM 99, and TM 98 were subjected to AFLP analysis. A total of 471 fragments were scored across all the 12 AFLP primer sets used and the results were used to plot a dendrogram. It was observed that these five varieties formed three distinct groups among which the aromatic B1 variety formed a distinct group.