GENETIC VARIATION ANALYSIS OF DIFFERENT POPULATIONS OF ROSA DAMASCENA IN NW. IRAN USING RAPD MARKERS

Random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) markers have been used to characterize the genetic diversity among 12 Damask rose landraces from northwest of Iran. The 22 primers used in this study amplified 262 scorable RAPD loci among which 180 were polymorphic (67%). The average number of bands was 11.9 for each primer. Genetic similarity calculated from the RAPD data ranged from 0.261 to 0.995 with an average of 0.63. A dendrogram was prepared on the basis of a similarity matrix using the UPGMA algorithm and separated the 12 landraces into two groups. There was a good correspondence between genetic divergence and climate condition, though some landraces (such as L2 and L3) with diverse geographical condition were clustered in one group. The results showed a possible application of RAPD markers in assessment of genetic diversity in Rosa damascena landraces.