Application of rep-PCR as a molecular tool for the genetic diversity assessment of Jatropha curcas

Jatropha curcas L., a non-edible Euphorbiaceae oil-rich crop cultivated in subtropical/tropical countries, has gained global attention as a promising renewable resource for biodiesel production. Rep polymerase chain reaction (PCR) was used to investigate the genetic diversity of 15 populations of  J. curcas L. Distinct populations of the plant growing wildly in Mauritius were characterised using three molecular markers random-amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD), repetitive extragenic palindromic (REP), and BOX. Furthermore, to confirm that the amplicons obtained with rep-PCR were derived from mitochondrial genomes, six randomly chosen bands were cloned and sequenced to demonstrate that the amplified products were mitochondrial genome-specific. The average polymorphism information content (PIC) values were 0.329 and the average percentage of polymorphic loci obtained were 89.28 for BOX primer, followed by RAPD (83.41), and REP (55.81) among the different populations with the percentage polymorphic loci ranging from 13.95 to 100. The homology recorded clearly indicated that the amplified products were mitochondrial genome-specific. Rep-PCR provides a quick and cheap method to study diversity at the mitochondrial level in plants. Keywords: Genetic diversity, Jatropha curcas, rep-polymerase chain reaction (PCR)