Genetic diversity of Moroccan pomegranate (Punica granatum L.) cultivars using AFLP markers.

Abstract

Pomegranate ('Punica granatum' L.) is one of the most important fruit crop cultivated in Morocco. However, little data is available on its genetic diversity. The genetic relationships among pomegranate cultivars were investigated using Amplified Fragment Length Polymorphism (AFLP) markers. Six pairs of primers were used to analyse 24 pomegranate cultivars obtained from the central regions of Morocco. A total of 519 scorable fragments were amplified, of which, 368 (71%) were polymorphic. Resolving power ranged from 13.16 to 28.75, and the average of polymorphism information content (PIC) per primer pair was 0.95. Coefficient of genetic differentiation between groups (GST) was 0.091, indicating that 9.10% of total genetic variability was among groups and 90.90% was within groups. The gene flow (Nm) was 4.992 among all of the groups. The UPGMA dendrogram and PCA analysis exhibited a genetic diversity structured independently from the geographical origin of cultivars and their denomination. These results proved that the tested primers were informative to discriminate among cultivars and to survey the genetic diversity in this fruit crop. The information may be useful to define conservation management program.