Molecular characterization of new Buffelgrass (Cenchrus ciliaris) genotypes

Buffelgrass (Cenchrus ciliaris L. Link) is an African agamospermous grass that has been widely introduced into arid regions of the world to improve rangelands for cattle production and as a result, it has invaded adjacent habitats. Cenchrus ciliaris is apomictic, a condition that is normally associated with low genetic variation within populations, but even moderate levels of genetic variation among populations could account for differences in invasiveness. We used Inter-Simple Sequence Repeat markers (ISSRs) to examine genetic variation among buffelgrass genotypes collected from nine different locations in the central region of Saudi Arabia, and three introduced cultivars. The genetic similarity coefficients among the twelve buffelgrass genotypes ranged from 0.66 to 0.94. Maximum similarity was observed between local populations. Introduced cultivars 'Biloela', 'Gayndah' and 'USA' were quite distinct from local populations. The dendogram constructed with UPGMA analysis revealed three clusters. In general, the study revealed the presence of considerable genetic diversity that could be used for further analysis for specific traits of interest.