Bermudagrass, Cynodon dactylon (L.) is a highly self-incompatible, warm-season and long-lived perennial grass which can be used for environmental turfgrass, forage grass and cultivated pasture. Therefore, it plays an important role in environmental sustenance, soil stabilization and agricultural production in the world. However, its genetic diversity is not well evaluated. To evaluate genetic diversity, one hundred and ninety accessions were selected from the collection maintained by the Plant Genetic Resources Conservation Unit in Griffin, GA and characterized by a set of 30 transferred SSR markers from major cereal crops. A dendrogram was generated from the genetic data. The genetic dendrogram demonstrates that the accessions can be classified into five main clades and some clades can be further divided into subgroups. The branched subgroups correlated very well with the locations where the accessions were collected. Geographical origin (or collection site) of accessions had significant influences on genetic similarity of bermudagrass germplasm. The information from genetic classification and evaluation would be useful for further bermudagrass germplasm collection, management and breeding programs.
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