Genetic relationships among pomegranate genotypes studied by fruit characteristics and RAPD markers

SummaryThe aim of this research was to study 24 Iranian pomegranate genotypes and thereby reveal their genetic relationships. Measurements of 28 fruit characteristics together with Randomly Amplified Polymorphic DNA (RAPD) marker data were used for this purpose. Mean values of fruit characteristics were used for factor analysis which determined seven main factors. Grouping of pomegranate genotypes by these factors was performed by Ward’s method. Among 113 random decamer primers tested, 27 showed good amplification and polymorphism, and a total of 158 RAPD markers were produced. Estimates of genetic relationships, using Jaccard’s similarity coefficient, ranged from 0.30 – 0.88 for the RAPD data. Grouping by fruit characteristics was compared with the results from RAPD analysis, but did not produce a significant correlation. This means that information based on fruit characteristics is not sufficient for genetic discrimination in pomegranate; however, RAPD markers provided a useful technique to study genetic diversity in pomegranate.