Evaluation of Genetic Diversity among Some Common Fig Using RAPD and ISSR Molecular Markers

The common fig (Ficus carica L.), one of the most important fruit species, belongs to Moraceae family and is widely distributed in Iran. In this study, genetic variations among some genotypes of common fig collected from six different regions of Ilam province (Iran) were evaluated based on RAPD and ISSR markers. A total of 73 and 29 alleles were produced by 14 RAPD (with their sizes ranging from 350 to 2500 bp) and 5 ISSR (with their sizes ranging from 150 to 1500 bp) primers, respectively. The number of observed alleles for RAPD primers ranged from 1 (OPA-03) to 9 (OPA-09 and UBC-429), with an average of 5.21 alleles per locus. Also, the number of observed alleles for ISSR primers ranged from 3 (UBC-807) to 8 (UBC-810 and UBC-414), with an average of 5.8 alleles per locus. The highest and lowest values of Shannon's information index (I) was observed in the UBC-429 (2.18) and OPA-03 (0.12) primers, respectively. The Jaccard's genetic similarity coefficient ranged from 0.12 to 0.73 among genotypes based on RAPD data, while for ISSR it was recorded from 0.07 to 1. Also, based on RAPD and ISSR data at a similarity coefficient of 0.45, the unweighted pair group method with arithmetic mean (UPGMA) cluster analysis divided the genotypes into six major groups. As a conclusion, there is a high genetic variability among fig genotypes, which is an important consideration for classification, utilization of germplasm resources and breeding programs of fig.