Abstract
Lebanon has ancient mulberry trees which are the remnants of the abundant orchards that dominated its lands during the nineteenth century. Lebanese mulberry germplasm has not been assessed yet. This study aims to collect local old rainfed mulberry accessions from different geographical regions and assess their diversity by using morphological and molecular markers (SSR and ISSR). Genetic diversity of 70 accessions of mulberry were evaluated by using 27 morphological traits. The dendrogram based on the morphological attributes showed a relative separation of the different accessions based on fruits color and taste. Molecular analysis was performed for the accessions by using selected SSR and ISSR primers. The primers marked a high discriminating power (0.7 to 0.89). The dendrogram constructed on the base of UPGMA method showed 13 different groups. The clustering patterns indicated no location nor local name specificity among mulberry accessions. The combination of SSR and ISSR primers was informative for estimating the extent of mulberry genetic diversity. It can be concluded that there is a high level of genetic diversity within mulberry trees in Lebanon. These results will be useful for mulberry germplasm management in terms of biodiversity protection and as a valuable source of gene pool for crop improvement.
Highlights
Received for publication 24 March 2020 Accepted for publication 10 June 2021Mulberry belongs to the genus Morus of the family Moraceae
The conservation of the genetic variability of the ancient Lebanese mulberry trees is of utmost impor tance for germplasm preservation and for future breeding programs
Our inventories recensed accessions of four vernacular names ‘Abyad’, ‘Mwachah’, ‘Shami’ and ‘Aswad’ across different Lebanese regions. This shows that a limited number of tradi tional varieties was cultivated since decades, howev er morphological and molecular characterization of these 70 accessions revealed high diversity of this germplasm collection
Summary
Mulberry belongs to the genus Morus of the family Moraceae. It is a multipurpose tree with a significant ecological, nutri tional and economical high value. Mulberries are highly adaptable species in different soil and climatic conditions. They are generally quite tolerant to drought, pollution and poor soil. They can be found in a wide area of tropical, subtropical, and temperate zones in Asia, Europe, North America, South America, and Africa (Kafkas et al, 2008). The genus Morus regroups 24 species (Thabti et al, 2014). The most widespread species in the Mediterranean climate areas are: Morus alba with fruit colors ranging from white to dark red, Morus rubra with mainly red/purple fruits and Morus nigra with dark purple to black fruits (Gerasopouls and Stravroulakis, 1997)
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