Genetic diversity of strawberry (Fragaria ananassa Duch.) from the Motuo County of the Tibet Plateau determined by AFLP markers

Abstract

Strawberry (Fragaria ananassa Duch.) is one of the most important berries in the world. Amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP) was used to evaluate the genetic diversity of strawberry in Motuo County of the Tibet Plateau. Seventy strawberry samples grown in Motuo County were collected for AFLP analysis using 256 primer combinations. A set of 10 primer combinations produced 374 clearly identifiable AFLP loci. The polymorphism ranged from 50% to 64% with an average of 58.8%. Nei’s genetic differentiation index for AFLP was 0.75, and the estimate of gene flow was less than 1 (Nm, 0.41). The unweighted pair group method with arithmetic mean dendrogram and Bayesian analysis clustered 70 samples into six groups. These findings clearly indicated high genetic diversity in wild strawberry from the Motuo County. These results could lay the foundation for further breeding and conservation of strawberry.