Abstract: The genetic diversity among 27 maize ( Zea mays L. ) populations has been analyzed based on the data of SSRs, which were from 4 bulk DNA samples for each population and extracted from leaf mixture of 10 individuals for each sample. The genetic diversity of 27 maize populations, including 13 domestic and 14 CIMMYT populations, were evaluated by 71 SSR primers, which are averagely distributed on 10 chromosomes of maize. On the 71 SSR loci, a total of 389 alleles had been detected in these populations. At each locus, 2 to 19 alleles could be detected, with an average of 5.48. Mean polymorphism information content was 0.66. There was nearly no difference in the proportion of polymorphic sites between domestic and CIMMYT populations, which were 92.5 for domestic and 92.2% for CIMMYT populations. The number of polymorphic alleles differed in domestic and CIMMY populations, which were 329 for domestic populations and 370 for CIMMYT populations. Cluster analysis was based on the genetic similarity coefficients. Two heterotic groups were determined among the 27 populations: group 1 was of CIMMYT germplasm including: Pob21, Pob32, Stay Green, Pob43, Pob49, Pool19, Pob28, Pob45, Pob46, Pob501, Pob502, and Suwan1. Group 2 was of domestic and temperate adaptive populations including : Jilin Syn A, Liaolv Syn, CSyn 5, CSyn3, CSyn4, Yu Syn5, Golden Queen, Shaan Syn1, Shaan Syn3, Dongnong Pop C5, WBM-C4, CPop13, CPop14, Pob69, and Pob70. The results basically were agreeable with the available pedigree data.

Key words: Maize (Zea mays L.), Population, SSRs, Bulk sampling, Genetic diversity