Molecular characterization of autochthonous Turkish fig accessions

Abstract

Turkey is one of the main genetic centers for fig tree, Ficus carica L. The genetic variabilities of 76 fig accessions from Hatay province of Turkey were evaluated by analysis of 10 simple sequence repeats (SSR) loci. The number of alleles revealed by SSR analysis ranged from 3 to 12 alleles per locus with a mean value of 6.8. A total of 68 alleles were detected by SSR and the average heterozygosity was higher than the expected one. In addition, seven random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) primers detected a total of 68 clear and reproducible bands, 55 of which were polymorphic, so it was possible to effectively characterize these fig accessions with either marker techniques. In both marker systems, Mantel’s correlation between similarity scores and cophenetic values was moderately high (0.90 for RAPD and 0.87 for SSR), which demonstrated that the clustering patterns fitted the data well. The clusters obtained using these types of markers were independent. This study indicated that there is great genetic variability among local fig accessions, making them a valuable genetic source for incorporation into potential breeding programs especially for table fig selections.