Genetic Diversity Analysis in Date Palm (Phoenix dactylifera L) Germplasm using Microsatellite Markers

Abstract

The Date Palm (Phoenix dactylifera L), germplasm commonly cultivated in Egypt, shows a wide range ofrepining periods and fruit quality and is an unexploited resource for breeding programs. The main purpose of this studywas to genetic diversity analysis and relationships for 45 date palm genotypes and to construct a molecular databaseincluding the cultivars commonly grown in Egypt. An analysis of thirty three microsatellite simple sequence repeat(SSR) loci out of thirty five markers was performed to define allele diversity, heterozygosity and genetic structure. Theaverage number of alleles per locus was 32.3. Heterozygosity per locus was 0.64 (Dpalm-103) to 0.96 (Dplam-100, 256,mpdCIR08 and mpdCIR078) with an average of 0.89. The highest heterozygosity (0.768) was detected in Avanda,followed by Amhat (0.758) while Khalas had lowest heterozygosity value (0.455).The genetic similarity values rangedfrom 0.041 to 0.260. The obtained dendrogram showed three main clusters and generally, a good structuring of 45genotypes and accessions. The use of 33 polymorphic microsatellite markers and the level of genetic variabilitydetected within Egyptian date palm germplasm suggested that this is reliable, efficient and effective marker system thatcan be used for diversity analysis and subsequently in crop improvement programs.