Genetic Relationships of Mulberry (Morus l.) Using Internal Transcribed Spacer (ITS) Markers

Mulberry, belonging to the family Moraceae, and genus Morus. Thirty-nine accessions, which belong to 9 species of Morus and 2 species as outgroup (Ficus adhatodifolia, Broussonetia  papyrifera) were examined using ITS markers in this study. Genetic variation and phylogenetic relationships among 19 samples from West Sumatra were assessed using the internal transcribed spacer region of nuclear ribosomal DNA (nrDNA ITS). The estimated genetic diversity revealed low genetic variation. Phylogenetic relationships and intraspecific divergence were inferred by Neighbor Joining (NJ) analysis was generally resolved. M. alba accessions consistently had one lineage, which indicates the absence of distant geographic isolation and genetic divergence between China accessions and those from other regions. Phylogenetic analysis showed that the monophyletic topology forms a cluster. From the results of this study, it can be concluded that M. alba which is spread in Indonesia comes from the same ancestor. The Reconstruction of phylogenetic tree using the Neighbor-Joining (NJ) method 1000x showed that the ITS region was successfully to predict phylogenetic relationships genus Morus.