Identification of zygotic seedlings from offspring of crosses between Mineolla tangelo and Shangsha with some oranges and mandarins using SSR markers

In citrus breeding programs after hybridization, it is difficult to distinguish between zygotic and nucellar seedlings in order to eliminate unwanted genotypes. In this study, microsatellite markers (Simple Sequence Repeats) used to differentiate hybrid from nucellar seedlings derived from crosses between Mineola tangelo*Shangsha with Page, Shangsha, Younesi mandarins and Marss and Hamlin oranges (227 plants). After DNA extraction from parents and offspring, PCR reaction was done by 4-7 microsatellite primer pairs. Finally 136 hybrids, 30 nucellars and 61 unknown seedlings in 227 tested offspring, were recognized