Back to Contents

FREE FULL TEXT PDF

INTER-RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN SDS-PAGE MARKERS AND AGRONOMIC TRAITS IN CHICKPEA (CICER ARIETINUM L.)

A. GHAFOOR, F.N. GULBAAZ¹, M. AFZAL, M. ASHRAF¹ AND M. ARSHAD²

Abstract: Sixty accessions collected from major chickpea growing areas of the Punjab along with two check varieties were investigated for principal components analysis based on agronomic characters and seed proteins. Seed proteins were analyzed through slab type SDS-PAGE using 11.25% Polyacrylamide gel and 6 ml of sample quantity. First three principal components with eigenvalues more than 1 contributed 88.58% of the variability amongst 62 genotypes evaluated for 11 quantitative traits, whereas PC₄ to PC₁₁ were less than unity. All the characters under study contributed genetic variance positively towards PC₁ except days to flowering where it was negative. Eight characters (branches, pods per plant, pods per branch, seeds per pod, 100-seed weight, biological yield, grain yield and harvest index) exhibited maximum effect on PC₁ and seven characters were positive for PC₂. Most of the accessions grouped on the basis of their origin for agronomic characters. Cluster analysis showed that accessions from same origins were grouped separately that might be due to frequent exchange of germplasm by the breeders or transport of grain to different markets from where the seed of various origins is disseminated through out the country. Out of 14 SDS-PAGE markers, 8 were polymorphic and gel was divided into three regions. The accessions with similar banding patterns were suggested to confirm by 2-D electrophoresis. SDS-PAGE alone did not exhibit high level of intra-specific variation, therefore, diverse accessions are suggested to be acquired from various sources. Agronomic characters were observed more reliable than protein peptides, but simultaneous study for both agronomical and biochemical analysis (protein and DNA) is suggested. Principal component and cluster analyses proved their validity to investigate inter-relationship among accessions for agronomic characters and SDS-PAGE markers, although agronomic evaluation exhibited more reliability.
 

Institute for Agro Biotechnology and Genetic Resources (IABGR), National Agricultural Research Centre (NARC), Islamabad, Pakistan.

Department of Biological Sciences, Quaid-I-Azam University, Islamabad, Pakistan.
Pulses Programme, National Agricultural Research Centre (NARC), Islamabad, Pakistan.

Corresponding Author: ghafoor59@hotmail.com