Genetic diversity of European chestnut Castanea sativa Mill. in different populations of Guilan Province using SSR markers

Gilan is one of the rich genetic resources ofsweet chestnut (Castanea sativa Mill.). The study on genetic variation of this gene pool is the first step in breeding programs like introducing new promising cultivars. In this study, the genetic diversity and structure of three C. sativa populations including 41 genotypes in Guilan province was studied using SSR markers. Among fourteen analyzed microsatellites, 10 showed polymorphism. In total, 31 polymorphic alleles were detected. The average of observed alleles was equal to 3.10 in each locus. Expected and observed heterozygosity were 0.542 and 0.556, respectively. The Fst and gene flow value were 0.174 and 1.18, respectively, which indicating the high genetic differentiation between populations. The highest genetic distance was found between Shaft and Shafarud populations and lowest genetic distance was found between Fuman and Shafarud populations. The results of this study showed that SSR markers are of high performance in determining the amount of genetic diversity and distinction in populations of European chestnut. Geographic separation and natural barriers and transportation of seeds by human are the important factors in this regard.