Analysis of genetic diversity in the core collection of red clover (Trifolium pratense) with isozyme and RAPD markers

The genetic diversity in the red clover USA core collection was measured by RAPD and isozyme markers,comparing different approaches of isozyme data analysis and comparing the results of RAPD with those of isozymes. A totalof 15 isozyme loci and 114 RAPD fragments were analyzed. Genetic diversity measured with RAPD and isozymes was high.The analyses of isozymes as binary data was highly correlated with the allele-frequency approach. There was no correlationbetween the distance matrices of different markers. Isozyme data grouped the accessions of red clover in four groups. Thevariation evidenced by AMOVA was higher among and within groups in the populations than at the intra-population level.Results showed the high diversity in the red clover core collection and indicated some populations that could be used inbreeding programs of the crop in Brazil.