SCoT molecular markers and genetic fingerprinting of date palm (Phoenix dactylifera L.) cultivars

Phoenix dactylifera L. has about 400 date palm cultivars in Iran with very confined information on their genetic structure and content. Up to now, our date palm cultivation has been based on traditional approached and therefore we need to move towards modern approaches of molecular breeding and biotechnology. The present study was performed on 113 date palm trees of 13 known cultivars, cultivated in different regions of Iran. We used SCoT molecular marker for our genetic investigation with the following aims: 1—Investigate genetic diversity both among and with date palm cultivars, 2—Identify genetic groups within these 13 cultivars, and 3—produce data on the genetic structure of date palm cultivars. The results obtained revealed a high within-population genetic variability. The studied cultivars differed genetically as evidenced by analysis of molecular variance and Fst values obtained in STRUCTURE analysis. Gene flow and genetic admixture were observed among date palm cultivars. No association occurred between geographical distance and genetic distance of date palm populations studied. The results indicated the efficiency of SCoT markers in genetic diversity analysis and genetic fingerprinting of date palms. Similarly, data obtained may be used in future breeding and hybridization programs of Iranian date palms.