Determining the genetic stability of micropropagated sugarcane using inter-simple sequence repeat markers.

Sugarcane culture is an important source of income for the Brazilian economy. The aim of this study was to identify somaclonal variation in sugarcane varieties RB943365 and RB92579 arising from micropropagation using inter-simple sequence repeat (ISSR) DNA markers. The evaluated plants were generated from the in vitro propagation of shoot tips grown in MS medium supplemented with vitamins, myoinositol, glycine, and sucrose, without the use of growth regulators. Fifteen consecutive subcultures with intervals of 14 days were carried out, and DNA was extracted from young leaves obtained from each of the subcultures. The DNA was amplified with ISSR markers and separated by electrophoresis on 2% agarose gels. No evidence of polymorphism was observed in subcultures of the varieties analyzed, suggesting the absence of somaclonal variants. In this way, the ISSR marker was efficient at analyzing somaclonal variation, and in vitro propagation of sugarcane can be considered efficient for 15 consecutive subcultures of the varieties analyzed.