Morphological and molecular characterization of some mersin (Myrtus communis L.) genotypes growing in the mediterranean and Aegean regions

Myrtle (Myrtus communis L.) is an evergreen, medicinal and aromatic plant growing in the Mediterranean region. In our country it grows mostly in the coastal region where Meditrranean climate is dominated. Developing new varieties requires preservation of genetic resources including rich genetic diversity. Genetic diversity is the most important element for breeding studies, and resistance genes to pests and diseases are mostly intended to be exists in the wild-grown genotypes. Molecular techniques help to determine the genetic relationship between the genotypes and create to new genetic resources for breeding programs. The objective of this study was to analyze the morphological and molecular diversity of 49 Myrtle (Myrtus Communis L.) genotypes collected from Aegean and Mediterranean regions of Turkey. Fruit parameters measured include fruit weight, height, width, number of seeds, seed weight and pulp weight. Leaf width and length were also measured as morphological characters. Fruit weight measured between 0.06-1.28 g, pulp weight 0.03-1.04g fruit length 6.45-16.23 mm and fruit width between 4.17-13.08 mm. The number of seeds per fruit varied from 2.2 to 24.4, seed weight varied between 0.02-0.23 g, leaf length measured between 10.36-32.85 mm and leaf width was determined between 5.5-14.34 mm. Molecular characterizations were determined based on SSR (simple Sequence Repeat Sequences or Microsatellites) and iPBS (primary binding site) primers. PCR amplification with 12 iPBS primers yielded a total of 135 bands and 80 of these were polymorphic. A total 55 band were obtained with 12 SSR primers and only Myrcom10 primer produced monomorphic band. The similarity index between genotypes was varied between 0.59 and 1.00 with iPBS primers and 0.61 to 1.00 with SSR primers. The dendrogram obtained based on the similarity indexes showed that genotypes were not clustered based on the geographic origins but partially grouped according to fruit color. KEYWORDS: Myrtle, Myrtus communis L., genetic diversity, SSR, iPBS