DNA fingerprinting of elite Greek wild cherry (Prunus avium L.) genotypes using microsatellite markers

As genetic improvement of forest trees still relies heavily on the selection of elite individuals from natural populations, 36 Prunus avium plus trees originating from four northern Greek populations were established in a gene conservation plantation. Their fingerprinting, genetic diversity and relationships were investigated based on 14 variable microsatellite loci. Notable amounts of genetic diversity were observed (P = 93.3, N-a = 3.270). The allelic variation detected was sufficient for unambiguous DNA fingerprinting. Mean polymorphic information content and diversity index were 0.473 and 0.536, respectively. The total value of the probability of identity was 3.13 x 10(-9). A principal coordinate analysis showed the formation of five groups in a two-dimensional multivariate space that explained 56.3 per cent of the total variation. Groups corresponded to populations, although the selected plus trees from one population corresponded to two distinct groups. The wild cherry germplasm collection was compared with a collection of five of the most widely known sweet cherry cultivars of northern Greece, by employing 11 commonly variable microsatellite loci. Results of a principal coordinate analysis indicated the diverse origin of this material as sweet cherry cultivars formed a short independent cluster, which was conspicuously differentiated from all wild cherry individuals in a graph of the first two principal coordinates.