Population genetic analysis of European ground cherry (Prunus fruticosa Pall.) using SSR markers

Abstract

Genetic structure of P. fruticosa populations in the Vojvodina, Republic of Serbia was investigated using 10 Simple Sequence Repeat (SSR microsatellite) markers. Analyzed material included 64 accessions from 6 different wild populations: Popovica, Vrdnik, Strazilovo 1 & 2, Backi Jarak, Titelski breg and ex situ population at University of Novi Sad research station Rimski Sancevi. A total of 28 alleles were detected, with an average of 2.8 putative alleles per primer combination. Nei's gene diversity (0.391) and Shannon's index of diversity (0 689) indicated relatively high level of diversity in wild populations of P. fruticosa, with higher genetic variation among individuals within populations. Cluster analysis revealed 2 main clusters combining accessions from Vrdnik, Backi Jarak, Strazilovo2 and Rimski Sancevi into the first cluster. Populations Popovica and Strezilovo formed second cluster while population Titelski breg were clustered independent from the rest. Populations Strazilovo 2 and Rimski Sancevi exhibited the lowest Nei's genetic distance value (0.047), which was expected since ex situ collection, created four years prior to new sampling, consists of accession from these natural population. Use of P. fruticosa as a valuable resource for cherry improvement will be informed by the patterns of genetic variability presented.