Efficiency of RAPD and ISSR Markers for the Detection of Polymorphisms and Genetic Relationships in Date Palm

Background and Objective: Several DNA markers have been used to detect the genetic variation among date palm cultivars, selecting of molecular markers for their specific purposes is the main challenge for researchers, the aim of this study was to evaluate the efficiency of RAPD and ISSR markers in assessing genetic diversity of date palm.Methodology: The DNA of 18 female date palms, comprising Khalas cultivar representing the diversity of date palm genotypes in Qatar was assessed using 29 ISSR primers and 8 RAPD primers, the data were then computed with the PowerMarker software to detect the major allele frequency, number of alleles, gene diversity and Polymorphism Information Content (PIC) value.Results: Twenty nine ISSR primers produced a total of 132 DNA fragments of which 72 fragments (54.5%) were reproducible polymorphic amplified fragments, while 8 RAPD primers produced a total of 32 DNA fragments, of which 22 fragments (68.75%) were polymorphic across all the genotypes.The most effective ISSR and RAPD primers were BT14 and OPC-11 respectively, which generated 7 bands all of which were 100% polymorphic.The RAPD marker exposed 22% gene diversity and 18% (PIC), while ISSR exposed 14 and 12% gene diversity and Polymorphism Information Content (PIC) respectively.Conclusion: The molecular markers obtained by the ISSR technique revealed a remarkable molecular discrimination among date palm compared to the RAPD, while RAPD provides perfect outcomes for date palms genetic diversity.