Analysis of genetic diversity in the bioenergy plant E rianthus arundinaceus ( P oaceae: A ndropogoneae) using amplified fragment length polymorphism markers

The genetic diversity among 30 accessions including 18 E rianthus arundinaceus and 12 S accharum species was analyzed using amplified fragment length polymorphism ( AFLP ) markers. We obtained 2245 fragments using 16 primer combinations. The E rianthus collection generated 1115 fragments of which 772 (69.2%) were polymorphic. Of the 342 monomorphic fragments (30.8%), 222 were specific to E .  arundinaceus . The neighbor‐joining tree based on the detected fragments clearly separated the E rianthus and S accharum accessions into distinct groups. The E rianthus collection was further subdivided into two J apanese groups and one I ndonesian group, with a high level of genetic differentiation among these groups ( F st  = 0.2062). These results represent the first molecular characterization of the J apanese E . arundinaceus breeding materials and provide a useful initial resource for breeding to improve the bioenergy potential of E rianthus spp.