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Genetic diversity and genetic structure of Persian walnut (Juglans regia) accessions from 14 European, African, and Asian countries using SSR markers

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Abstract

Persian walnut (Juglans regia L.) is the world’s most widely grown nut crop, but large-scale assessments and comparisons of the genetic diversity of the crop are notably lacking. To guide the conservation and utilization of Persian walnut genetic resources, genotypes (n = 189) from 25 different regions in 14 countries on three continents were sampled to investigate their genetic relationships and diversity using ten microsatellite (SSR) loci. The SSRs amplified from 3 to 25 alleles per locus, with a mean value of 11.5 alleles per locus. The mean values of observed and expected heterozygosity were 0.62 and 0.73, respectively. Based on Nei’s genetic identity, accessions from Bratislava (Slovakia) and Antalya (Turkey) showed the lowest similarity (0.36), while accessions from Algeria and Tunisia as well as accessions from Debrecen (Hungary) and Trnava (Slovakia) had the highest similarity (0.97). Two populations from Iran (Alborz and Ardabil) had the highest number of private alleles (7 and 5), but they were quite different as they also had the lowest genetic identity when compared to the remaining populations as well as to each other. Although overall differentiation among regions was relatively low (F st  = 0.07), cluster analysis grouped accessions generally but not completely according to geography. STRUCTURE software confirmed these results and divided the accessions into two main groups, separating accessions collected from Europe and North Africa from those from Greece and the Near East. Results indicate the presence of a likely center of diversity for Persian walnut in Eastern and Southeastern Europe. They also provide information that can be used to devise conservation actions. Notably, the genetic diversity of threatened populations from two regions in Iran should be conserved.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Forestry and Natural Resources, Purdue University, 715 State Street, West Lafayette, IN, 47907, USA

    Aziz Ebrahimi

  2. Department of Biotechnology, College of Agriculture, Jahrom University, PO BOX 74135-111, Jahrom, Iran

    Abdolkarim Zarei

  3. USDA Forest Service, Hardwood Tree Improvement and Regeneration Center, Purdue University, 715 State Street, West Lafayette, IN, 47907, USA

    Shaneka Lawson & Keith E. Woeste

  4. Wageningen University & Research, Plant Breeding, P.O. Box 386, NL-6700 AJ, Wageningen, The Netherlands

    M. J. M. Smulders

Authors
  1. Aziz Ebrahimi
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  2. Abdolkarim Zarei
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  3. Shaneka Lawson
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  4. Keith E. Woeste
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  5. M. J. M. Smulders
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Correspondence to Abdolkarim Zarei.

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The authors declare that they have no competing interests.

Data archiving

If the manuscript is accepted, genotype data will be submitted to TreeGenes database.

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Mention of a trademark, proprietary product, or vendor does not constitute a guarantee or warranty of the product by the U.S. Dept. of Agriculture and does not imply its approval to the exclusion of other products or vendors that also may be suitable.

Additional information

Communicated by A.M. Dandekar

Aziz Ebrahimi and Abdolkarim Zarei contributed equally.

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Ebrahimi, A., Zarei, A., Lawson, S. et al. Genetic diversity and genetic structure of Persian walnut (Juglans regia) accessions from 14 European, African, and Asian countries using SSR markers. Tree Genetics & Genomes 12, 114 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11295-016-1075-y

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11295-016-1075-y

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