Genetic Diversity of Cherry Laurel (Laurocerasus officinalis Roemer) BY SSR Markers

Abstract

Cherry laurel (Laurocerasus officinalis) belongs to the Rosacea family. The main distribution area for edible cherry laurels is the Blacksea shores in Turkey. In the study, it was aimed to reveal the differences among the various cherry laurel genotypes by using the SSR molecular marker technique. Cherry laurel genotypes were selected from the Black Sea Region of Turkey. A total of 15 SSR primer pairs were developed and used for Prunus species, and the phylogenetic relationship and polymorphism rates were also demonstrated. As a result, 13 SSR primers resulted in scorable DNA band profiles. UDAp-401 SSR primer was detected with a minimum of 3 alleles and BBCT001 primer with a maximum of 17 alleles. The average number of alleles was observed at 9 per locus. Whereas, the average number of polymorphic bands per SSR marker was calculated as 8.38. Additionally, 109 polymorphic DNA profiles were obtained from a total of 117, and the polymorphism rate was calculated as 93.5%. The band patterns resulting from SSR analysis showed multiple alleles, suggesting polyploidy in cherry laurel. In conclusion, we determined that the SSR molecular markers could be used to identify the different cherry laurel genotypes. Furthermore, these results depicted that among the different genotypes sampled there is significant genetic variability that can be useful for future research and breeding programs.