Genetic variation among date plum (Diospyros lotus) genotypes in Turkey

Turkey is one of the most important genetic resources of the date plum, Diospyros lotus, especially in the northeastern part of the country. Authenticating the identity of germplasm resources of D. lotus would be of great value for breeding. We examined the genetic variability of 11 D. lotus genotypes sampled from Coruh Valley in Turkey. One hundred and twenty-eight DNA markers were generated by 12 random primers. The highest polymorphism ratio was observed with the primer OPA-01 (71%) while the lowest was with OPY-01 (36%). The band size was between 350 and 2500 bp for these primers. The percentage of polymorphic bands was 58%, which demonstrated the efficiency of these primers. The similarity between genotypes ranged from 0.48 to 0.76. The RAPD markers permitted us to distinguish all the genotypes.