TRANSFERABILITY OF SSR MARKERS FROM RELATED FICUS SPECIES TO FICUS CARICA L. AND ASSESSMENT OF EFFECTIVENESS OF THE MARKERS

The objective of the study was to test the transferability of previously developed SSR markers for different Ficus species to Ficus carica. A total of 54 SSR simple sequence repeats (SSRs) primers previously developed for Ficus montana, F. septica, F. sycomorus, F. (sycomorus) racemosa, F. (urostigma) rubiginosa, and F. insipida were tested on 32 fig (Ficus carica L.) genotypes. Out of 54, 38 primers amplified the genomic DNA of Ficus carica genotypes, while the remaining 16 primers showed either no amplification or unreadable gel images. Out of 38, 17 primers were polymorphic and produced 62 alleles with an average of 3.64 bands per locus. The transferability rate from different Ficus species to Ficus carica varied from 90.9% (F. rubiginosa and F. racemosa) to 33.3% (F. septica). Some of the primers from donor species namely Frac13, Frac83, Frac241, Fsyc07, FinsA1, FM4-15, and FM4-70 resulted in similar banding patterns in the Ficus carica genome, suggesting that they were developed from the same loci and primer binding sites are conserved. Three loci (Fsyc11, FinsQ5 and FinsN3) produced more alleles in Ficus carica than donor species. Sixty-two SSR alleles, could distinguish all fig genotypes thoroughly, and UPGMA cluster analysis grouped them into two groups. As a conclusion, 17 primers developed for related Ficus species successfully amplified polymorphic bands in Ficus carica and distinguished all fig genotypes thoroughly. The transferability of SSRs to Ficus carica from related species affirmed the possibility of being used of these markers for genetic diversity, mapping and comparative genetic analysis.