Molecular Characterization of Prunus mahaleb L. Genotypes using Prunus Simple Sequence Repeat Markers

Turkey, located in the ecological range of mahaleb (Prunus mahaleb L.), has a variable genetic population. Mahaleb is the most important rootstock in terms of fruit-growing sweet cherry trees. In this study, we conducted a simple sequence repeats (SSRs) marker analysis of 60 mahaleb genotypes selected from the Anatolian gene sources for molecular characterization and investigation of the genetic relationships. A total of 33 SSR primer pairs selected from sweet cherry and peach were used for genetic identification. We found that 21 SSR markers were polymorphic, with 2 to 7 (average = 3.5) alleles per locus. The allele size varied from 70 to 550 bp. The lowest number of alleles (2) was found in the microsatellite markers EMPaS12A, PceGA25, PS07AO2, BPPCT 034, and BPPCT 038, and the most (7) were found in EMPaSO5. The observed mean heterozygosity value for different loci was 0.74, while the expected heterozygosity was 0.56. The genotypes collected from the same region were closely related and regrouped together. In this study, the SSR markers developed from cherries and peaches were successfully used in the molecular characterization of mahaleb genotypes. The results obtained demonstrated the transferability of the SSR markers between the close relative species in Prunus spp. for the differentiation of the genotypes. Furthermore, the present study identified the mahaleb genotypes present in Anatolia and determined the rich genetic variability in high potentials.