Scientia Horticulturae 99 (2004) 353–362 Genetic relationship and diversity in Indian coconut accessions based on RAPD markers Anuradha Upadhyay 1 , K. Jayadev, R. Manimekalai, V.A. Parthasarathy ∗ Biotechnology Section, Central Plantation Crops Research Institute, Kasaragod 671124, Kerala, India Accepted 15 July 2003 Abstract Randomly amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) markers were used to analyze genetic diversity and genetic relationship among coconut accessions. DNA from 81 palms representing 20 accessions, 15 Indian and 5 exotic, was used to amplify with 8 highly polymorphic primers. The 8 primers yielded 77 markers, with an average of 9.6 markers per primer. The within-accession genetic diversity ranged from 0.057 to 0.196. In general, tall accessions were more heterozygous as they had higher proportions of polymorphic bands and genetic diversity. The proportion of variation explained by within accession and between accession diversity was 0.58 and 0.42, respectively. Similarly exotic accessions exhibited more variation. Dwarfs from geographically distant regions did not cluster separately. Based on the similarity matrix, cluster and principal coordinate analysis was performed. A dendrogram of genetic relationship was obtained. The extent of genetic diversity and genetic relationship among accessions is discussed. © 2003 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. Keywords: Cocos nucifera; Genetic diversity; Molecular markers; RAPD 1. Introduction Coconut (Cocos nucifera L.), a member of family Arecaceae (Palmaceae) is an im- portant palm which sustains the livelihood of millions of families in coastal regions of ∗ Corresponding author. Present address: Indian Institute of Spice Research, Post Bag No. 1701, Marikunnu P.O., Calicut 673012, Kerala, India. Fax: +91-495-273294. E-mail addresses: anu upadhyay@yahoo.com (A. Upadhyay), parthasarathy in@yahoo.com (V.A. Parthasarathy). 1 Present address: NRC for Grapes, Manjri Farm Post, Pune Solapur Road, Pune 412307, Maharashtra, India. 0304-4238/$ – see front matter © 2003 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/S0304-4238(03)00103-1