Fatemeh Farzad Amirebrahimi - Department of Biotechnology and Plant Breeding, Faculty of Agriculture, Vali-e-Asr University of Rafsanjan, Rafsanjan, Iran
Mohsen Mahmoodnia Meimand - Department of Biotechnology and Plant Breeding, Faculty of Agriculture, Vali-e-Asr University of Rafsanjan, Rafsanjan, Iran
Hamid Reza Karimi - Department of Horticultural Sciences, Faculty of Agriculture, Vali-e-Asr University of Rafsanjan, Rafsanjan, Iran
Khalil Malekzadeh - Department of Biotechnology and Plant Breeding, Faculty of Agriculture, Vali-e-Asr University of Rafsanjan, Rafsanjan, Iran

Genetic study of pistachio, especially male genotypes due to the effects of pollen on nut quality and quantity and next generation characterizations, helps to improve its management and breeding program. In the present study, the genetic diversity among 20 male and 36 female pistachio genotypes was investigated using ISSR marker. Intotal, 178 DNA fragments were proliferated using 12 primers out of which 169 fragments were polymorphic. The average polymorphism information content (PIC) varied from 16% to 35%. Pistachio genotypes were classified into five main categories by cluster analysis. The highest similarity was among the ‘Poostkhormayee’and ‘Momtaz’ cultivars (78%) and the lowest genetic similarity was among ‘Ravar3’ and ‘Ghazvini’ with K40 genotype (25%). K38 male genotype had the lowest genetic similarity with female cultivars. Thus, it can be introduced as appropriate pollinizer for other studied cultivars. The results of analysis of molecular variance showed that variability among male and female populations (8%) was lower than the variation within the populations (92%). Based on achieved results, ISSR marker recognized as a powerful tool to study the genetic variation among male and female pistachio genotypes

Pistachio, Molecular marker, Cluster analysis, Molecular variance, Genetic diversity