Genetic relationships among 22 taxa of bamboo revealed by ISSR and EST-based random primers.

Genetic relationships among 22 taxa of bamboo were evaluated using 12 inter simple sequence repeats (ISSR) and four expressed sequence tag (EST)-based random primers, resulting in amplification of 220 loci. The grouping of species based on Jaccard's similarity matrix using UPGMA and principal coordinate analysis agreed with earlier published reports on molecular phylogenetic studies in bamboos with few deviations. In the dendrogram, however, species of one genus were placed in different clusters along with members of other genera. This calls for correct taxonomic delineation at the genus and species level using both vegetative and reproductive characters and correlation of molecular data with morphologically definable taxonomic groupings at the proper taxonomic level.