Isolation and characterization of genomic microsatellite markers for small cardamom (Elettaria cardamomum Maton) for utility in genetic diversity analysis.

Microsatellite markers in small cardamom (Elettaria cardamomum Maton) were developed using the selective hybridization enrichment method. A total of 140 microsatellite repeats were identified from 270 clones. Primers were designed for 58 microsatellites and 44 primer pairs amplified products of expected size in cardamom.

Randomly amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) and derived techniques.

Understanding biology and genetics at molecular level has become very important for dissection and manipulation of genome architecture for addressing evolutionary and taxonomic questions. Knowledge of genetic variation and genetic relationship among genotypes is an important consideration for classification, utilization of germplasm resources, and breeding. Molecular markers have contributed significantly in this respect and have been widely used in plant science in a number of ways, including genetic fingerprinting, diagnostics, identification of duplicates and selecting core collections, determination of genetic distances, genome analysis, developing molecular maps, and identification of markers associated with desirable breeding traits.