Assessment of genetic diversity of local Tunisian peach accessions [Prunus persica (L.) Batsch] using SSR markers

Tunisia is characterized by a rich genetic heritage of fruit trees. Nevertheless, local Tunisian accessions of different fruit crops face several threats that are causing a dramatic loss of some of these valuable landraces. This study was conducted to evaluate the genetic diversity and population structure of 23 Tunisian peach accessions using 27 microsatellite (SSR) loci. These Tunisian accessions were compared with accessions from America, mainland Spain and the island of La Palma (Canary Islands, Spain). A considerable genetic diversity was observed in Tunisian genotypes with allelic richness value of 0.47. The genetic richness was 0.37 in La Palma genotypes, 0.3 in mainland Spain and 0.38 in the American genotypes. Eight private alleles were obtained in the Tunisian genotypes, while six were observed in the mainland Spanish pool, five in the American pool and six in the La Palma pool. Structure analyses and similarity dendrogram based on SSRs were clearly consistent with a geographic structuring and highlighted the different introduction pathways of Prunus persica into Tunisia.