GENETIC STRUCTURE AND DIVERSITY OF DATE PALM (PHOENIX DACTYLIFERA L.) CULTIVARS IN IRAN REVEALED BY REMAP GENOTYPING

Abstract

The date palm (Phoenix dactylifera L.) is the most important fruit-bearing crop in arid regions of the Middle East and North Africa. About 3,000 date varieties or cultivars are known worldwide that differ in flowering time, several agronomic traits, and fruit-related traits including moisture and sugar content. Phoenix dactylifera is the second most important horticultural crop of Iran that is cultivated mainly in the southern part of the country. It has about 400 known cultivars in Iran and therefore comprises an important part of the whole world date palm genetic resources. We have no detailed information on its population genetic structure. The present study was an attempt to provide the population genetic data on 14 date palm cultivars for the first time. The present study tried to identify genetic diversity of a few cultivars and provide data on their genetic structure with REMAP molecular marker. The results revealed a moderate level of genetic diversity both among and within the studied cultivars. We obtained mean genetic polymorphism of 20.8%.