Distinctive analysis of qualitative traits of hazelnut germplasm in Northwestern Iran using ATG start codon region genetic marker(SCoT)

Assessing the genetic diversity of natural and protected germplasm is one of the most strategic global activities and as the national capital of each country. Over the years, various mutations and crosses have caused the accumulation of some useful genes in this germplasm and can be used as genetic resources in critical situations. Evaluation of diversity based on morphological and phenotypic traits is not stable due to the influence of the environment and the interaction of genotype in the environment. Therefore, the use of DNA-based markers that have high reproducibility. Codon-based DNA amplifier-based markers have recently been used to translate SCoT in plants due to heritability and reproducibility. The aim of this study was to evaluate the genetic diversity of hazelnut genetic germplasms in the forests of the northwest of the Iran by SCoT markers and it’s accordance to diversity estimates based on national markers of hazelnut differentiation tests.

In this study, 77 genotypes from hazelnut forests of Ardabil, Miyaneh and Arasbaran were selected by locating each genotype using GPS. Qualitative traits were evaluated using the national guidelines for uniform differentiation and hazelnut stability tests. after DNA extraction from leaf tissue, their polymorphism diversity was assessed using 15 SCoT-specific primers.

The results showed that the genotypes were classified according to the qualitative traits of differentiation of 17 clusters. Using 15 SCoT markers, 165 polymorphic bands were produced with an average of 11 bands per marker and the average percentage of polymorphisms with an average of 11 bands per marker and the average percentage of polymorphisms for markers 90.2% of genotypes based on these markers in 19 sub-clusters Were grouped.

Analysis of qualitative traits based on bands created in SCoT showed that markers 3, 5, 11, 12, 18 and 20 had more genetic diversity and that the degree of  accordance of genotype grouping based on the SCoT markers was 0.87 on The basis of the Mantel test.

Using two genetic markers, 75% (R2) of the variety of hazelnut differentiation descriptors can be accessed.