The present study provides essential information to devise a pomegranate core germplasm collection without duplication of plant material, to sustainably manage pomegranate breeding programs, and to establish conservation strategies for preserving local pomegranate genetic resources. | Turkish Journal of Agriculture and Forestry Research Article Turk J Agric For (2017) 41: 142-153 © TÜBİTAK doi: Evaluation of the genetic diversity of pomegranate accessions from Turkey using new microsatellite markers 1, 1 1 2 3 Oğuzhan ÇALIŞKAN *, Safder BAYAZIT , Mert ÖKTEM , Ali ERGÜL Department of Horticulture, Faculty of Agriculture, Mustafa Kemal University, Antakya, Hatay, Turkey 2 Department of Biotechnology, Institute of Science, Mersin University, Mersin, Turkey 3 Biotechnology Institute, Ankara University, Ankara, Turkey Received: Accepted/Published Online: Final Version: Abstract: Turkey has many valuable genetic resources for pomegranate; however, there have not been many studies on the identification and characterization of these important genetic resources. New microsatellite markers were used to characterize a set of 78 pomegranate accessions from Turkey. Using six SSR primers, a total of 41 alleles were characterized with an average of alleles per locus and mean probability of identity (PI) value of . These data indicated a high level of polymorphism in pomegranate germplasm. Five synonymous groups could be detected among 30 accessions. This microsatellite-based key is a first step towards a database for markerassisted identification of pomegranate accessions in Turkey. The present study provides essential information to devise a pomegranate core germplasm collection without duplication of plant material, to sustainably manage pomegranate breeding programs, and to establish conservation strategies for preserving local pomegranate genetic resources. Key words: Genetic diversity, new microsatellites, pomegranate, synonymous group 1. Introduction Horticultural plants have been an indispensable part of human life for ages. Since ancient times, their fruits, seeds, and even roots and branches have been used to meet personal and social
