Genetic Diversity Among Seeded Date Palm Genotypes Using Start Codon Targeted (SCoT) Markers

Abstract

Discovering its genetic diversity and background is crucial for the date palm (Phoenix dactylifera L.) genetic resources management and conservation. In the latest study, the start codon targeted (SCoT) molecular marker utilization determined the genetic diversity and set the distinctive genotypes in 10 seeded date palm (P. dactylifera L.) genotypes. The genotyping attained through SCoT markers assessed the genetic variations in the date palm genotypes by the dendrogram. The highest genetic similarity of 89% was evident between the date palm genotypes G8 and G9, while the lowest similarity of 71% was between the genotypes G10 and G1 and G1 and G8. Overall, 160 bands amplified through 10 seeded date palm trees ranged from 150 bp to 1600 bp. Having the lowest value of PIC grouped the markers SCoT-02, SCoT-03, SCoT-04, and SCoT-09 into a cluster based on the heat map plot. However, the genotypes G4 and G5 are in a cluster along with genotype G6. The genetic association stemmed through genetic parameters using PCoA, heat map, and genetic distance. These findings can help identify the genetic diversity of anonymous date palm genotypes.