Abstract

Molecular characterization of the most popular pomegranate cultivar Bhagwa and its 16 closely related genotypes available in Maharashtra state of India along with two other cultivars, Phule Arakta and Mridula was carried out to assess their diversity. Sixteen SSR primer pairs amplified 32 alleles of which 16 were polymorphic with PGCT088 and Pom024 primers producing six and four polymorphic alleles, respectively. Of them, three were Bhagwa specific polymorphic alleles i. e. Pg6-164bp, Pg14-254bp and PGCT093B-153bp amplified only in all 17 Bhagwa types, while PGCT093B-187bp allele was present only in Phule Arakta and Mridula. Limited divergence was observed among them on SSR analysis with similarity coefficient ranging from 0.80 to 1.00. On SSR data based clustering analysis; all Bhagwa like genotypes could be clearly differentiated from cultivars Phule Arakta and Mridula. All Bhagwa like genotypes were found sharing common genetic basis, claims of these genotypes being independent identities were rejected.