Science and Education Publishing World Journal of Agricultural Research 2333-0678 3 6 2015 11 7 Molecular Diversity Assessment in Chickpea through RAPD and ISSR Markers 192 197 EN Sameer. S. Bhagyawant Neha Gupta Ajay Gautam S.K. Chaturvedi Nidhi Shrivastava 2ICAR-Indian Institute of Pulses Research, Kanpur, India 3Department of Bioscience & Biotechnology, Banasthali University, India WJAR2015362 10.12691/wjar-3-6-2 2015 6 21 2015 8 31 2015 11 5 Chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.) is a cool season food legume in the family of Fabaceae. The exploration of genetically variable accessions is the key source of germplasm conservation for future selecting parents for breeding. PCR based analysis employing RAPD and ISSR marker are one of the established techniques of estimation of genetic diversity. Twelve chickpea accessions were analyzed by ten RAPD and ISSR primers of which all primers gave amplification products. The results showed that the level of DNA polymorphism in these accessions is low. RAPD analysis yielded 5.9 bands per primer while ISSR analysis produce 2.8 bands per primer. The average percentage of molecular polymorphism as produced by RAPD and ISSR primers was 67%. The cluster dendrogram demonstrated a similarity coefficient range of 0.10 to 0.66 due to RAPD markers, whereas ISSR markers showed 0.60 to 0.80. The variability index worked out in the present study ranges from 0.49 to 0.78. The present study determines DNA polymorphism in chickpea accessions as revealed by RAPD and ISSR markers. Overall the study ascertained that RAPD and ISSR marker provide powerful tools in revealing genetic diversity in chickpea.