GENETIC DIVERSITY AND PHYLOGENETIC RELATIONSHIP AMONG DIFFERENT PEACH GENOTYPES THROUGH RAPD MARKERS

Abstract

Peach is a traditional crop of northern areas of Pakistan. It is the second most important fruit crop after apple and ranks first in the genus Prunus. For the well establishment of the peach crop, presence of genetic diversity in the germplasm is very important. During the present study, genetic diversity in peach genotypes was analyzed using different RAPD molecular markers through PCR. Variation matrix for each primer followed by an average was calculated using bi-variate data set. Analysis of the banding profile of these primers showed different level of genetic polymorphism among the various peach genotypes under study. The level of genetic polymorphism (estimated as genetic distance using RAPD primers) ranged between 20% and 80%. Cluster analysis revealed that the various peach genotypes were grouped into 5 classes. Group I and II and V had only one genotype each. Group III was comprised of 3 genotypes. Group IV had 6 genotypes. Genetically diverse peach genotypes were identified which can be used in future breeding programs to develop cultivars with broad genetic base.