Study of genetic diversities and relatedness of Iranian citrus genotypesusing morpholog

Having knowledge about genetic relationships among accessions is necessary for developing breedingstrategies to produce improved cultivars. In present study, genetic diversity and inter-relationship among29 genotypes of citrus were comparatively analyzed using morphological and RAPD markers. Significantvariability was observed among citrus genotypes for 61 quantitative and qualitative morphologicalcharacters of leaves, fruits and seeds. Furthermore, the RAPD markers revealed a high polymorphism rate(91.82 %). A pair-wise similarity value between genotypes ranged from 0.14 to 0.97 with average of 0.62.Both morphological and molecular analysis indicated a high degree of variation among studiedgenotypes. In current research, genotypes pummelo and mandarin were confirmed as true species ofcitrus in distinct cluster. Results of present study proved that both of morphological and molecularmarkers are potential tools for determining genetic diversities and genetic relationships of citrusgenotypes and can be used in citrus breeding programs.

Keywords:

Citrus , Cluster analysis , Genetic variability , Molecular markers