Genetic diversity and variety-specific ISSR markers on small cardamom (Elettaria cardamomum (L.) Maton)

Elettaria cardamomum (L.) Maton, also known as the ‘Queen of Spices’, is the dried fruit/ capsule of the family Zingiberaceae. Malabar, Mysore, and Vazhukka are the three major cultivars of small cardamom, with prostrate, erect, and semi-erect panicles, respectively. Many cardamom species are difficult to distinguish because of their similar morphological traits. Therefore, it is necessary to create fast, sensitive, and reliable methods for authentication. In the present study, we assessed the level of genetic diversity and the interrelationship among 47 selected small cardamom germplasm accessions using fifteen different molecular markers of Inter Simple Sequence Repeat (ISSR) primers were assessed. The selected accessions represented the maximum existing variability among different genotypes of small cardamom. Cluster analysis by (UPGMA) revealed a substantial degree of genetic similarity among the genotypes. The lowest similarity was observed between the genotypes, MCC 95, MCC 94, MCC 98, MCC 99, MCC 91, and MCC 90 with a similarity index of (0.68). The highest similarity coefficient value of (100%) was recorded between MCC16 & MCC19, followed by MCC85 and MCC89 with a similarity index of (0.98) for Jaccard's similarity matrix. Among the selected nine landraces, the lowest similarity was observed in the released variety of the ICRI-5 genotype, with a similarity coefficient of (0.70). The highest similarity coefficient value of (1.00) was recorded between White Flower Cardamom (WFC) and Arjun (AJ), followed by Thiruthali (TL), Paniculangara-1 (PK1), and Kalarickal Bold (KB) in landraces. Most of the genotypes are separated by the first, second, or third principal component analysis (PCA), which demonstrates distinct groups of genotypes corresponding to cluster analysis.