Evaluation of Genetic Diversity and Population Structure of Peach (Prunus Persica L.) Genotypes Using Inter-Simple Sequence Repeat (Issr) Markers

Abstract

Peaches are one of the most important food resources widely cultivated all over the world in terms of their high economic value. In the current study, 32 inter-simple sequence repeat (ISSR) markers were used for genetic diversity assessments and population structure of 52 local peach genotypes and 2 commercial peach cultivars from Igdir province of Turkiye. Totally, 213 alleles were scored, of which 154 were polymorphic. The mean of polymorphic band percentage (PPB), Nei's genetic index (H), polymorphism information content (PIC), effective number of alleles (Ne), and Shannon's index value were 70%, 0.24, 0.20, 1.38, and 0.37, respectively. The Jaccard similarity coefficient between local peach genotypes ranged from 0.40 to 0.89, with an average of 0.60. According to the UPGMA dendrogram, Agseftali and Zaferan peach genotypes were classified by admixture pattern into four groups. Results of population structure analysis and PCoA confirmed that 54 genotypes were assigned to four groups. The mean of genetic differentiation among the populations (F-ST) and estimate of gene flow (Nm) were 0.39 and 1.33 for K = 4 subpopulations, respectively, assuming structure analysis. Our result showed that the gene flow value was moderate, explaining the high level of genetic diversity maintained among populations. The present study indicates that ISSR markers are efficient for molecular characterization and analysis of populations of local peach genotypes. Moreover, the ISSR markers identified in the current study can provided a useful information for breeding programs to select individuals to use as parents.