Biochemical, Morphological and Molecular Evaluation of Nine Fenugreek Landraces

Aim: Identification of plant genotypes is an important process to register the plant cultivars, protect breeder's right, maintain the genotype genetic purity, perform the field inspection as a supportive method to seed analysis and protect seed industry. So, the objective of this work was to distinguish among nine landraces of fenugreek (Trigonella foenum graecum L.) at the seedling, chemical, biochemical, and molecular levels.

Methodology: Germination percentage and seedling vigor characteristics were tested using ISTA rules. Seed chemical composition (Moisture, protein, oil, fibers, ash and carbohydrate) was measured. SDS-PAGE and RAPD-PCR methods were used for biochemical and molecular differentiation among the genotypes, respectively.

Results: The results of seedling characteristics revealed no significant difference among the genotypes in the germination percentage. Genotype-8 had the highest seedling vigour index, while genotype-10 had the lowest one. Chemical composition such as moisture content, crude protein content, oil content, ash content, crude fiber contents, and carbohydrates were analyzed. SDS-PAGE revealed a total of 21 bands with molecular weight (mw) ranging from 241.7 to 6.5 kDa. Eleven out of 21 was polymorphic bands and seven unique markers were found, four of them were positive and the others were negative. RAPD-PCR revealed a total of 103 DNA bands generated by 8 random primers, in which 64 were polymorphic bands. Twenty two unique RAPD markers were detected and all being positive.

Conclusion: Present investigation provided the information about seed germination, seed characters, biochemical and molecular differences of nine Egyptian fenugreek landraces. The results showed that L8 performed well with respect to seedling vigor index and fiber content, while L10 and L14 performed well with respect to protein and oil content, respectively. So, these landraces could be used in the breeding programs for developing the fenugreek.