Genetic variations of Amorphophallus variabilis Blume (Araceae) in Java using AFLP

Abstract

Amorphophallus variabilis Blume, a member of Araceae, is a native tuber crop in Java, Madura and Kangean Islands,
Indonesia. The plant showed high variations in morphology. However, genetic variations at molecular level have not been
well studied. Amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP) was carried out using 8 primers combination of EcoRI and
MseI on 78 accessions collected from 28 sites in Java, Indonesia. Results showed that AFLP markers able to generate
polymorphism among accessions. A total of 220 polymorphisms were found. The differences among accessions at the genetic
level were high, and 5 clusters were constructed. Grouping was independent of geographical origin, similar to clustering of
morphological characteristic of flowers as in the previous report. Accessions from one site composed of one to four different
cluster groups, showed that variation in single site was observed. Regarding conservation program of the A. variabilis in
natural population, it is reasonable to protect one bigger site rather than many small sites, but it should be recommended to
maintain conservation areas in several districts. Further study on population structure should be carried out to explain such
variability.