Rong et al.: Genetic diversity and phylogenetic relationships in the Bambusa genus as revealed by RAPD markers -5011 -APPLIED ECOLOGY AND ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH 18(4):5011-5021. Abstract. Understanding the genetic diversity and divergence within Bambusa has important implications for conservation and sustainable use. In this study, genetic diversity and phylogenetic relationships between 28 species/varieties of Bambusa were evaluated based on 16 randomly amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) primers

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... screened from 96 primers. A total of 218 bands were amplified using these 16 primers, yielding DNA fragments of 290-3000 bp. The number of bands and percentage of polymorphism were 211 and 96.79%, respectively, indicating high inter and intraspecific genetic diversity within Bambusa. In clustering analysis, genetic distances ranged from 0.2139 to 0.7647. The 28 bamboo species/varieties were classified into six groups at a genetic distance of 0.6138, consistent with traditional classification results. Our results indicated a high degree of polymorphism at RAPD loci, suggesting that the RAPD markers are effective for the analysis of genetic diversity and phylogenetic relationships in the genus. The results of this study provide a theoretical basis for germplasm conservation, classification, and evolutionary studies of Bambusa species/varieties.