Abstract
Conservation of sandalwood genetic resources is mainly concerned with maintaining, all the genetic variations contained within and among carefully selected target species. Hence DNA based markers. RAPD which are excellent tools for studying diversity at the DNA level and assist in elimination of duplicates in germplasm and discriminating cultivars are widely used. Where we present the optimization of DNA isolation and PCR condition for RAPD analysis of selected Santalum album genotypes collected from Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh. It is of great economic importance because of its fragrant heartwood and oil. (Rogers, 1996) India accounts for nearly 99 percent of sandal oil producer in the world. Sandalwood occupies an important place in the ecological, cultural and spiritual heritage of India. Extraction of high quality DNA from sandalwood leaves is a difficult task due to their rigid cell wall which is composed of complex carbohydrates. Sandalwood leaves tire also rich in secondary, metabolites, such as polyphenols, tannins and polysaccharides, which pose major problem in DNA purification, as they are difficult to separate from DNA. Many of the initial problems encountered in the extraction of high quality, DNA have been attributed to these contaminants (Murray and Thompson, 1980). A modified CTAB method DNA extraction (Probeski et al., 1997) was followed which is relatively quick, inexpensive and consistent for extraction of DNA.