Evaluation of Genetic Diversity of Commercial Apple Cultivars (Malus domestica L.) in Khorasan Razavi using RAPD Technique

 The objective of this study was to assess the genetic diversity of some commercial apple cultivars in Khorasan Razavi province using 40 RAPD primers. DNA was collected from fresh leaves of apple samples studied and extracted based on dellaporta method. In order to investigate polymorphism, the PCR analysis was performed for each primer and the marker indices were calculated. The genetic similarity and distance were evaluated using Jaccard coefficient by UPGMA method and PcoA analysis by NTSYS-PC ver 2.2, respectively. The genetic structure analysis was performed using STRUCTURE software ver 2.3.   The percentage of polymorphic bands was different from 37.5% for OPJ13 marker to 100% for OPA7 markers. The highest and lowest PIC parameter was related to OPA4 (0.48) and OPM6 (0.2), respectively. With respect to cluster analysis, the samples were grouped into two main clusters and five subgroups. The highest similarity was between Golab Esfahan-Golomkani, Margenduft-Low Red Roem Beauty and Alimori Khorasan Dalago, while the lowest similarity was between Golab Esfahan-Fuji Rossa and Golab Esfahan-Low Red Roem Beauty cultivars. The classification based on PcoA analysis was different with UPGMA. In addition, the obtained result of Bayesian analysis showed lack of admixture of the apple cultivars studied.   According to the results of RAPD analysis, this marker can be used for recognition of polymorphic regions, assessment of genetic distance and management of apple genotypes and cultivars.