Molecular characterization of Iranian almond cultivars and related wild species using amplified fragment-length polymorphisms (AFLPs).

摘要

Amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP) analysis is a rapid and efficient method for producing DNA fingerprints and molecular characterization. In this study, the genetic diversity of 45 almond cultivars and related species were studied, assaying 19 primer combinations. They included eight almond cultivars from Iran, 11 from unknown origin, five from Italy, one from Spain, three from France, one from Russia, seven from USA, and one accession of P. communis, P. orientalis, P. scoparia, P. glucea, P. bucharica, P. kuramica, P. webbii, P. tenella, and P. koteschyi. Three introduced 'Shahrodi' cultivars with unknown origin were also investigated. The objectives of this work were to estimate genetic similarities, marker indices, and polymorphic information contents (PICs) for AFLP markers in almond cultivars and wild species; and facilitate the use of molecular markers in inter-specific introgression and cultivar improvement. Out of the 813 polymerase chain reaction fragments that were scored, 781 (96.23%) were polymorphic. Genetic similarities ranged from 0.5 to 0.96, marker indices ranged from 51.37 to 78.79, and PICs ranged from 0.56 to 0.86. Results allowed the unique molecular identification of all assayed genotypes. Cluster analysis based on AFLP data clearly differentiated the genotypes and wild species according to their origin and pedigree. Our results showed the great genetic diversity of the almond cultivars and their interest for almond breeding.