[01] Dalal Y. Sinjare, Scientific Research Center, Duhok University, Duhok, Iraq.

In this research a set of 12 simple sequence repeat (SSR) markers was used to evaluate the genetic diversity background of 11 pomegranate (Punica granatum L.) cultivars were collected from the agricultural directorate nursery in Duhok province. These cultivars represent the main cultivars which cultivated in Kurdistan region, particularly around Duhok province. Among the developed primers, five revealed monomorphic alleles across all pomegranate populations, whereas seven loci amplified polymorphic banding patterns. A total of 25 alleles were detected with average of 2.08 alleles per locus. The mean values of expected (He) heterozygosity were 0.3315. The content average of polymorphic information was 0.2572. Genetic distance among the 11 varieties ranged from 0.0606 to 0.2683. Results of overall data and cluster analysis suggested that this set of primers can be very useful for studding genetic diversity and pedigree analysis of this important economical important fruit species.

Pomegranate (Punica granatum L.), Microsatellite, Genetic Diversity

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