Genetic diversity of native avocado in Nayarit, Mexico, determined by ISSRs

Abstract

Avocado fruits are nutritious and highly accepted for fresh consumption. Mexico is one of the world's largest producers and consumers of avocado. The geographical and edaphoclimatic conditions of Nayarit, Mexico, have been ideal for reproducing the genus Persea, hence the large avocado gene pool. This research analyzes the genetic diversity of native Persea americana from Nayarit using the highly polymorphic ISSRs genetic markers. We collected 43 samples of native avocado from five municipalities in Nayarit. The level of genetic diversity detected was 64 %, and the analysis of molecular variance indicated that the most significant variation is within populations (82 %). Dice's genetic distance clustered the genotypes among groups according to genetic distances, and the clusters were associated with geographical or climatic conditions. Therefore, the information generated by this research can be useful in developing crop conservation and management strategies.