Genetic diversity and population structure analysis of mango (Mangifera indica) cultivars assessed by microsatellite markers

Abstract

SSR marker characterization of Indian mango cultivars revealed two distinct groups of populations with geographical affiliation. Six SSR loci with low PI have been identified as universal markers for mango characterization. In this study, genetic diversity and population structure of mango cultivars were assessed by employing fourteen simple sequence repeat markers, with high polymorphic information content. A set of 387 mango accessions from different regions of India was used. Model-based structure analysis revealed the presence of two subpopulations comprising the cultivars from ‘South-West’ region and ‘North-East’ region. A similar clustering pattern was observed in the dendrogram analysis, with two major groups identified that were further sub-grouped based on their genetic relatedness. Analysis of molecular variance showed a significant variance component among and within mango sub-populations derived from the structure analysis. The proportion of genetic differentiation among individuals within the two populations was found to be significant with a F ST value of 0.248. The extent of genetic diversity was found to be higher in case of ‘South and West’ population than ‘North and East’ population. Six SSR loci with low probability of identity values have been chosen as universal markers for mango characterization. Our results highlight genetic diversity encompassed by mango cultivars and genetic distinctness of ‘South-West’ and ‘North-East’ region cultivars.