Abstract
Vicia villosa Roth, known as hairy vetch, is an annual forage legume of economic importance. It is often cultivated in mixture
mainly with oats for the production of green forage or silage. Given its potential in nitrogen fixation, it can be used as green
manure. In this work the biological material consisted of a local registered variety and two accessions received from ICARDA.
Our objective is to study the genetic diversity of these accessions using molecular markers (RAPD) and karyotype analysis.
Molecular results revealed relatively high levels of genetic diversity within and between accessions of Vicia villosa Roth.
Random Amplified Polymorphic DNA (RAPD) technique has proven effective and was able to distinguish the studied
accessions. Among 15 primers tested, 4 primers showed variability within and between accessions. Therefore, in this study,
we focused on optimistic application of RAPD molecular markers for the conservation of resources, genetic diversity and
phylogenetic relationships. In conclusion, our results revealed a high level of genetic divergence between and within accessions
among the genotypes studied of Vicia villosa. At karyological level, the existence of a single type of chromosomes in all
accessions which consists of 7 pairs of submetacentric chromosomes (7sm) showed that their karyotype is symmetrical and
consequently less evolved. Nevertheless, variation was observed among accessions for chromosomes size. This variation can
be exploited in breeding programs and such characterization is considered as a priority if we want to safeguard and enhance
the local forage and pasture plant genetic resources.
