Morphological, Molecular, and Self-(In) Compatibility Characteristics of New Promising Apricot Genotypes

Abstract

World apricot (Prunus armeniaca L.) production is increasing steadily due to breeding of new high yielding cultivars in different countries. More recently, breeding programs have been modified according to consumers’ demands and also improvement in resistance to diseases (Sharka, Monilinia etc.), frost damages, and determination of self-(in) compatibility. In this study, fourteen apricot breeding progenies and six of their parents were evaluated by using both morphological and molecular markers. As morphological markers, fruit weight, width, length, height, total soluble solids, acidity, and fruit firmness were used. In molecular analysis, to determine genetic relationships, Sequence-Related Amplified Polymorphism (SRAP), Inter-Simple Sequence Repeat (ISSR) and Damage- Associated Molecular Patterns (DAMP) markers were used. In addition, SRc-F/R markers were used to determine S allele profile. The results showed that, although there were no earlier genotypes than Ninfa and Priana, Ay×P3 cross was a promising genotype with regard to earliness and fruit characteristics. A total of 224 scorable bands obtained with 8 SRAP primer combinations (25 bands), 8 DAMP primers (81 band) and 16 ISSR primers (118 bands) showing high diversity among crosses and cultivars. A total of 4 SRNase alleles (SC, S2, S3, S6) were identified in this study and the most widely identified alleles were SC and S3 alleles. Keywords: Cross breeding, Hybridization, New variety, Prunus armeniaca.