MOLECULAR CHARACTERIZATION OF SOME PAKISTANI DATE PALM (PHOENIX DACTYLIFERA L.) CULTIVARS BY RAPD MARKERS

Abstract

The present study was conducted with an aim to analyze the genetic diversity and phylogenetic relationship among twenty five date palm (Phoenix dactylifera L.) cultivars from Pakistan. The leaf samples for DNA isolation were collected from four provinces of Pakistan i.e., Sindh, Punjab, Khyber Pakhtoonkhwa and Balochistan. DNA was isolated by modified CTAB method. The study was carried out by using six universal RAPD primers. The RAPD primers showed polymorphism among all date palm cultivars. The bands obtained were successfully used to differentiate the genotypes. Based on the pairwise comparison of amplification products, the genetic relationship was estimated. All date palm cultivars showed variation at the DNA level. The average of genetic diversity among the date palm cultivars ranged 79.4%. A dendrogram was constructed using NTSYSpc programme, on the basis of this analysis, the populations were clustered into two main clusters and sub-clusters. Therefore, the high level of polymorphism was detected and its reproducibility suggests that RAPD markers are powerful and reliable tool for genetic diversity analysis of date palm cultivars.