The following research comprised the molecular study of cultivars associated with different species of cowpea (Vigna unguiculata), broad bean (Vicia faba), and peas (Pisum sativum) in the family Fabaceae, using random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) markers for genome classification. Overall, the results generated 406 random bands with primers, and some were variant and others had distinct fragment sizes ranging from 100 to 3,000 bp, which distinguished the cultivars of different species. The species Vigna unguiculata cultivars showed the highest number of unique bands, while the French cultivar of the species Pisum sativum revealed the fewest bands with no unique bands. The genetic distance among the different cultivars ranged from 0.122 to 1.231 cM. The dendrogram revealed three main clusters. The RAPD proves to be a useful tool for evaluating genetic diversity and relationships among different genotypes.
Fabaceae, cowpea, broad bean, peas, RAPD markers, molecular identification, genetic distance
Based on the studies, the different species cultivars displayed characteristics of unique bands with the highest genetic variation. The determined genetic distance may be effective for breeding programs, as RAPD markers showed the maximum genetic variation, fingerprint, and dimensions in the studied species cultivars.