Assessment of genetic diversity in cultivars and wild accessions of Luohanguo (Siraitia grosvenorii [Swingle] A. M. Lu et Z. Y. Zhang), a species with edible and medicinal sweet fruits endemic to southern China, using RAPD and AFLP markers

Genetic variation of wild populations and cultivars of Luohanguo (Siraitia grosvenorii), a plant species endemic to southern China, was assessed using random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) and amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP) markers. Based on the results for 130 individuals from seven populations, a high level of genetic diversity of Luohanguo was observed at the species level. The percentage of polymorphic loci (P) was 89.4%, Nei’s gene diversity (H e) was 0.239, and Shannon’s information index (H o) was 0.373 based on the combined AFLP and RAPD data. There was a high degree of genetic differentiation, with 45.1% of the genetic variation attributed to differences between the populations. The genetic diversity of the Luohanguo cultivars is much lower than that of wild populations (P = 41.8%, H e = 0.141, H o = 0.211), and a distinct genetic differentiation is observed between the cultivars and wild accessions. The pool of genetic variation in the wild populations provides an excellent gene resource for Luohanguo breeding.