Identification of genetic diversity and relationships of some Iranian tea genotypes using SRAP markers

The tea plant is one of the most important products in the northern region of Iran, and plays an essential role in the region's economy. Since today many tea plants in the region are being destroyed for various reasons, so having information about the genetics of those trees helps design breeding programs to reach appropriate plants for specific purposes. Research SRAP markers, using eight primer combinations, were used to study the genetic relationships of 27 tea plant samples. In total, these eight combinations produced 41 scorable bands, 70.63% of which were polymorphic. The calculated PIC for all combinations was from 0.23 to 0.43 at an average of 0.36. Data analysis was performed by NTSYS software using Jaccard's similarity coefficient to determine the amount of similarity and the dendrogram was drawn based on UPGMA. Based on molecular data, the range of similarity between samples varied from 0.393 to 0.933. Samples were divided into five groups at a similarity level of 0.65. The fifth group (E) was divided into four subgroups at a similarity level of 0.75. Research limitations: Application of another marker system such as SSR and AFLP can help to understand the relationships of samples better. Originality/Value: In general, the study of genetic diversity showed that the SRAP marker could be useful in identifying polymorphic regions and estimating genetic distances and germplasm management in tea plants.