Received: 30-03-2015 / Accepted: 20-09-2016
Random Amplified Polymorphic DNA (RAPD) markers were used to characterize the genetic diversity and relationships among 53 accessions ofAcacia crassicarpa. A total of 56 markers were tested. The results indicated that 16 markers produced 142 allelesin which 131 were polymorphic (accounting for 92%) and of which 12 generated 100% polymorphic alleles with the sizeranging from250bpto3000bp. Based on the genetic similarity of 53 accessions, two main clusters with the similarity index ranging from 0.47 -0.99 were grouped by NTSYSpc2.10 software. Cluster I included nine accessions,namely A.cr.S.6, A.cr.N.34, A.cr.S.38,A.cr.S.51, A.cr.N.81, A.cr.N.84, A.cr.N.86,A.cr.N.87and A.Cr.N.147. Cluster II was composed of 44 remaining accessionswhich were divided into 3 sub-groups of level 1 (IIa, IIb and IIc). High level of polymorphism among Acacia accessionssuggested that RAPD markers can be useful for A.crassicarpa germplasmcharacterization and conservationand efficient selection of for drought tolerance.