R. Kurnianingsih, R. Mastuti, A. Nikmatullah, E.L. Arumingtyas
The banana cultivar ‘Haji’ (Musa x paradisiaca L.) is native to the Lombok Island, Indonesia. The said cultivar has an excellent feature of lengthy shelf life and the potential to significantly improve the banana through breeding. However, cultivar ‘Haji’ has various local names and morphological variations, and therefore, its characterization by molecular markers is necessary to confirm the observed genetic variations. The presented study comprised the examination of the Internal Transcribed Spacer 2 (ITS2)’s capability as a marker to identify the banana cultivar ‘Haji.’ Genetic divergence analysis using ITS2 sequences revealed the banana cultivar Haji’s 10 accessions were closely related, with a divergence coefficient of 0.000 to 0.023. Phylogenetic analysis based on the ITS2 sequence showed all the banana accessions were in the same clade, separating from the out-group accession. The results authenticated all 10 banana accessions with different local names and morphological characters belonged to the cultivar ‘Haji’ (Musa x paradisiaca L.). These findings are vital in developing ITS2 as a DNA barcode for the banana cultivar ‘Haji’ (Musa x paradisiaca L.). © Society for the Advancement of Breeding Research in Asia and Oceania (SABRAO) 2025.
Department of Biology, Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences, University of Mataram, West Nusa Tenggara, Indonesia; Doctoral Program in Biology, Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences, Brawijaya University, East Java, Indonesia; Department of Biology, Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences, Brawijaya University, East Java, Indonesia; Department of Agroecotechnology, Faculty of Agriculture, University of Mataram, West Nusa Tenggara, Indonesia
