Genetic diversity of Ambri apple variants of Jammu region in India

Abstract

The distinct germplasm of any crop species constitutes a vital genetic resource for extracting genes or alleles necessary to meet future nutritional and disease-resistance needs. In the present study, a total of 29 SSR markers were used to interpret genetic diversity among fifty Ambri apple variants of the Jammu region, wherein polymorphic information content (PIC), polymorphic percentage, and number of alleles per locus were calculated. Seventeen polymorphic SSR loci amplified 54 alleles, and the number of alleles ranged from 3 to 10, with an average of 5.35 alleles per locus. The mean PIC value for all loci was 0.64. The highest polymorphic percentage (62.50) was observed in primer CH04g10 and the lowest (14.20) in primer CH03d12. Jaccard’s similarity coefficient among Ambri apple variants ranged from 0.14 to 0.74, which indicated a broad genetic base. The cluster dendrogram partitioned the cultivars into two main clusters. Of the 50 collected variants, a wide range of diversity was observed in respect of fruit weight (158.21 to 292.23 g), fruit length (4.35 to 6.37 cm), fruit width (4.62 to 7.62 cm), TSS (13 to 15.91°Brix), titratable acidity (0.30 to 1.7 percent), and ascorbic acid (2.10 to 4.80 mg/100g) content. The highest coefficient of variation was observed in titratable acidity (44.31 percent). Of the selected population, two variants, SKJAD-29 and SKJAD-30, proved promising for commercial cultivation.