Determination of genetic relationship among some walnut (Juglans regia L.) genotypes and their early-bearing progenies using RAPD markers

Random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) method was used to study the genetic relationships among eight walnut genotypes grown in Turkey. A total of 45 10-mer primers were tested with the RAPD technique. Thirty-seven primers showed reproducible polymorphic pattern. These primers produced 513 bands, out of which 340 were polymorphic. The molecular size varied between 200 - 5000 bp. The dendrogram realized from the RAPD markers grouped the eight genotypes into three major clusters. The highest similarity was found between NO-2 and NO-8 genotypes (0.779). The cophenetic correlation coefficient between the similarity matrix and the cophenetic matrix of the dendrogram was very high (r = 0.9131), supporting the validity of the dendrogram. Based on these results, RAPD analysis can be used for the characterization and grouping of walnut genotypes.