Assessing the genetic diversity in hawthorn (Crataegus spp.) genotypes using morphological, phytochemical and molecular markers

Thanks to its ecological and geographical location, Turkey is the homeland of many fruit species and allows many fruit species to be grown. Hawthorn, which is understood to be important in human health and nutrition, is one of these fruit types. This study was carried out to identify morphological, biochemical, and molecular genetic variations of 22 hawthorn genotypes belonging to three different species collected from Kayseri province. The fruit (fruit length, fruit width, fruit weight, stone weight and soluble solid content) and leaf (leaf length, leaf width, petiole thickness) characteristics of the genotypes showed differences. Among the biochemical properties of the genotypes, the antioxidant activity, as % inhibition, ranged from 23.13 to 61.59%, the total flavonoid content ranged from 14.63 to 57.22 mg QE/100 g, and the total phenolic content ranged from 277.28 to 310.80 mg GAE/100 g. In the principal component analysis, species generally formed similar clusters. In molecular marker analysis, 101 bands were obtained from 13 ISSR (Inter Simple Sequence Repeats) primers. 76 of the bands were polymorphic and the polymorphism rate was calculated as 75.24%. The similarity index in the UPGMA (Unweighted Pair Group Method with Arithmetic Mean of Cluster analysis) dendogram because of the molecular analysis ranged between 0.71 and 0.88. In the dendrogram, genotypes did not show a dense clustering by species. The results obtained may benefit researchers in the determination and protection of genetic resources in breeding studies on hawthorn species.