Cloning of Glb1 gene and its genetic diversity in different maize landraces

【Objective】The present experiment was conducted to study genetic diversity and relationship among different maize landraces collected from Southwest China in order to provide references for reasonable application of these germplasm resources. 【Method】The 12 accessions of maize landrace collected from Southwest China were used as materials to analyze their genetic diversity by clone and sequence alignment of Glb1 gene. 【Result】The length of Glb1 gene sequence in 12 maize landraces changed from 1138 to 1149 bp with 96.21% of consistency. There existed rich variable sites among Glb1 gene sequences of 12 landraces. Out of which, eight insertions/deletions ≧ 3 bp were located at the loci of 81-84, 122-128, 161-164, 368-371, 428-442, 668-680, 966-976 and 1003-1011 bp,respectively. The coefficient of genetic similarity among 12 landraces ranged from 96.50% to 100.00%, with an average of 98.58%. The cluster analysis results showed that 12 maize landraces could be classified into five groups, and those landraces came from the same geographical distribution were tended to cluster into one group. 【Conclusion】Glb1gene is highly conservative,and its sequence showed certain genetic diversity among different maize landraces. Therefore, Glb1 gene sequence could be used as an ideal molecular marker for identifying different maize landraces.