Abstract
Molecular characterization of eleven clones of C. winterianus collected from elevendistricts of West Bengal was carried out with 10 RAPD and 9 ISSR primers. The RAPD primersdeveloped 81 robust loci, which revealed 74.07% polymorphism and 61 ISSR markers generated47.50% polymorphism. Out of the different anchored primer combinations, ISSR primers with AGand GA motifs produced clear and maximum scorable markers, thus revealing a better coverage ofthe genome. Genetic diversity parameters [average and effective number of alleles, percentpolymorphism, average heterozygosity, intralocus gene diversity, polymorphic information content(PIC)] for RAPD, ISSR, and RAPD+ISSR along with UPGMA clustering based on Jaccard'scoefficient were estimated with a view to assess efficiency of the marker system in Cymbopogon.RAPD markers were more efficient than ISSR markers with regards to detection of polymorphism,number of loci scored and PIC values. However resolving power (Rp), Shannon's index, meancoefficient of gene differentiation (Gst), and gene flow estimates were better ISSR markers. Geneticvariations detected among the geographically different populations of C. winterianus could be ofmuch use for the introgression of new characters from wild counterparts to the cultivars, isolation ofstable segregating markers, and selection of improved varieties and conservation of germplasmresources.

Key words: Genetic diversity, Cymbopogon winterianus, RAPD and ISSR, plant breeding.