MORPHOLOGICAL AND MOLECULAR CHARACTERIZATION OF APRICOT (Prunus armeniaca L.) GERMPLASM
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Date
2024-02-27
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UHF Nauni
Abstract
The present study entitled “Morphological and molecular characterization of
apricot (Prunus armeniaca L.) germplasm” was conducted to evaluate the morphological,
biochemical and molecular characteristics of thirty nine apricot accessions during 2022 and
2023. Bulk of the variation was accounted for by the first 12 components in qualitative
traits; first 3 components in quantitative traits and first 2 in biochemical attribute which
accounted for 79.80%, 68.401%, and 77.117 % of the total variation in a PCA plot,
respectively. Phylogenic analysis separated all accessions into two major clusters A and B
having 32 and 7 accessions in terms of qualitative traits; 38 and 1 in quantitative and 11 and
28 in biochemical attributes, respectively. Out of 39 accessions only 21 accessions showed
promising characters in terms of fruit weight, colour, shape, TSS, and weak adherence to
stone that could benefit the farming community. Molecular characterization using 46 SSR
markers produced a total of 974 alleles with an average of 33.59 alleles per locus with PIC
values ranging from 0.16 to 0.50. PCR product of 15 accessions mostly indigenous
collections and also Shakarpara that revealed unique bands were sequenced and subjected to
BLAST search which revealed a high degree of homology with a number of Prunus dulcis
DNA. A high quality reference genome for apricot is still unavailable thereby limiting the
elucidation of the associations of phenotypes with genetic background and varietal diversity
in apricots. Hence in order to generate better information for effective genetic diversity
assessment there is a need for future sequencing, assembly and annotation of the apricot
genome. This will provide more important gene resources for future studies on apricot and
will provide a new direction towards future crop improvement programme through breeding.
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MORPHOLOGICAL AND MOLECULAR CHARACTERIZATION OF APRICOT (Prunus armeniaca L.) GERMPLASM