ISSN 2736-1756
Advanced Journal of Microbiology Research Vol. 2004
Available online at http://internationalscholarsjournals.org/journal/ajmr
© 2004 International Scholars Journals
Full Length Research Paper
Analysis of Tunisian date palm germplasm using simple sequence repeat primers
Zehdi S.1*, Sakka H.1, Rhouma A,2 Ould Mohamed Salem A.1 Marrakchi M.1 and Trifi M.1
1Laboratoire de Génétique, Immunologie and Biotechnologie, Faculté des Sciences de Tunis, Tunisia.
2Centre de Recherches Phoénicicoles, INRAT, Degache, Tunisia.
Accepted 11 February 2004
Abstract
Inter Simple Sequence Repeat (ISSR) markers involve polymerase chain reaction (PCR) amplification of DNA using a single primer composed of a microsatellite sequence. ISSR technology rapidly reveals high polymorphic fingerprints and determines genetic diversity. We used genetic markers generated from selected ISSR primers to assess genetic diversity among a set of Tunisian date palm varieties. Seven primers were used to cluster 12 date palm varieties and 77 polymorphic markers were sufficient to identify all of the varieties. These discrete molecular markers were used to estimate genetic distances among the 12 accessions and to examine their genetic relationships. Data analysis identified phenetic groups that were in agreement with those obtained according to agronomic traits and random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) markers. Among the 12 simple sequence repeat (SSR) motifs tested, the most abundant were AG.
Key words: Genetic diversity, ISSR polymorphisms, date palm, Pheonix dactylifera.