DNA and morphological diversity of selected Greek tomato ( Solanum lycopersicum L.) landraces

Abstract

Utilizing inter-simple sequence repeats (ISSRs), the genetic diversity of 33 Greek tomato ( Solanum lycopersicum L.) landraces and three cultivars, three cherry tomato ( S. lycopersicum var. cerasiforme) cultivars and two accessions of Solanum pimpinellifolium L. was studied. Furthermore, 12 ISSR primers were also used to identify 27 morphotypes derived from 7 landraces. Based on Jaccard's coefficient, an average genetic similarity of 0.797 (ranged from 0.56 to 0.95) was found among the accessions. Cluster analysis using the UPGMA method placed all tomato landraces and cultivars into a single group, while the cherry hybrids and the S. pimpinellifolium accessions were placed in a second group. The ISSR data distinguished all the 27 morphotypes from each other and grouped the morphotypes derived from the same landrace together. The ISSR technology proved useful in describing genetic diversity among Greek tomato landraces and was capable of distinguishing the closely related morphotypes.