ROLE OF MOLECULAR MARKERS TO STUDY GENETIC DIVERSITY IN BAMBOO: A REVIEW

The genus Bambusa (family Poaceae) is the fastest growing grass in the world and adapted to various climatic conditions. Bamboos are used for variety of purposes such as for making poles, paper, charcoal, candles. Most of the species of the bamboos are edible and have high nutritional and mineral value. Bamboo shoots, leaves and other parts are used as food both in the fresh and dried form. Edible bamboos are used as tea, pickles and many more due to their high nutritional value. The flowering in bamboo is infrequent and seed viability is low, to fulfil the requirements of the bamboo In vitro culture of bamboo can be done. Different explants are used to grow the bamboo in the laboratory. It is present all over the world with a great genetic diversity and to classify the bamboo traditional methods are not appropriate. There are around 1200 species indigenous to Asia and new world of bamboo and their genetic diversity can be evaluated by using different molecular markers. A wide range of molecular markers is available that can help in the classification of bamboo and identification of bamboo genetic diversity. The present review highlights the use of molecular markers that are used in the genetic evaluation of the bamboo species.