Dna Fingerprinting And Cultivar Identification Of Olive (Olea Europaea L.) Using Ssr Markers

Background: Genetic diversity and population structure of the olive varieties cultivated in Pakistan are yet to be explored.Methods: In present study, we studied population structure and genetic diversity and developed DNA fingerprints of 13 olive varieties using 63 Simple Sequence Repeat markers.Results: Collectively 618 alleles were amplified among which 582 were polymorphic and 36 were monomorphic. High allelic diversity per locus was found among 63 SSR markers, i.e., one for GAPU-12 to 23 for UDO099-008 and GAPU-47 with an average 9.80 alleles per locus. On the basis of cluster analysis genotypes were grouped into two clusters. Cluster I contained varieties Manzanilla, Sohawa-selection, Koroneki, Bulkasar-selection, Arbequina, Arbosona, Chugtai-selection, whereas cluster II was comprised of varieties Bari-Zatoon, Coratina, Gemlik, Frontaio, Pendolino and Ottobratica. UDO-24 marker alone identified seven olive varieties. Similarly, DCA-07 and EMO-02 identified six olive varieties each.Conclusion: The findings of this manuscript will be helpful for future studies related to DNA fingerprinting and genetic diversity assessment for choice of SSR markers and identification of olive varieties.