Published online by Cambridge University Press: 02 August 2007
The genetic diversity of 43 male sterile and low fertility Citrus accessions, as well as 13 fertile ones, were assessed using simple sequence repeat markers (SSRs). Thirty-five polymorphic alleles were generated from eight primers (on average 4.4 alleles per primer). Cluster analysis was performed via unweighted pair group method analysis (UPGMA) using the NTSYS-pc version 2.10. The results showed that the accessions could be classified into three groups: cultivars of mandarin were classified into group 1; those of sweet orange, grapefruit, ponkan or tangor into group 2; and Microcitrus with male sterile cytoplasm into group 3. Cluster analysis also revealed that Satsuma mandarin was more closely related to Bendiguangju mandarin than to Zaoju, Mankieh or Huangyan Bendizao tangerine. The present study on genetic diversity of male sterile and low fertility Citrus will provide useful information for further collection, preservation and utilization of this plant.
First published in Journal of Agricultural Biotechnology 2006, 14(6): 937–941