Determination of Genetic Relationship of Quince Cultivars and Genotypes Collected from Various Centers of Origin and Diversity of this Species by Using SSR Markers

The center of origin of quince is Talysh region in northwest of Iran and the Caucasus. There are numerous centers of diversity of this tree species in Iran, Republic of Azerbaijan, Turkey and Europe. In this study, the genetic relationships of genotypes and cultivars of quinces collected from the center of origin of this tree species in the west of Guilan in Iran and the Caucasus region were compared with the genotypes and cultivars from different centers of diversity of this species in Khorasan, Isfahan, Ardabil, Western Azarbaijan and Tehran provinces in Iran as well as genotypes from Turkey and Europe using 12 and 14 pairs of SSR markers developed from apple and pear. SSR markers were successfully transferred to the quinces and led to the distinction of Japanese and Chinese quinces from the genotypes belong to the genus Cydonia, and also grouped 63 quince genotypes in seven clusters. The highest allelic frequency (0.968) was observed in CH03g06 and KU10 markers. The germplasm of Europe was clustered in an independent group, while Quince C was grouped with the germplasm of northwest of Iran and the Caucasus. Analysis of genetic structure of the germplasm approved the results of cluster analysis and confirmed the previous reports in relation to two independent evolutionary pathways of the quinces from the Caucasus and northwest of Iran to Turkey and Europe, and the second pathway toward central and northeast regions of Iran. Comparison of these evolutionary relationships of the quince genotypes with the previous reports on morphological and organoleptic evaluations of fruits indicated that each group of identified germplasm has different breeding potential for being used in quince breeding programs.