Alaa Aboud^(1)*  Faisal Hamed⁽²⁾   and   Fahed Al-biski⁽³⁾

(1). General Commission for Scientific Agricultural Research, Damascus (GCSAR), Syria.

(2). Department of Horticulture, Faculty of Agriculture, Damascus University, Damascus, Syria.

(3). Department of Biotechnology, (GCB), Damascus, Syria.

(*Corresponding author: Dr. Alaa Aboud. E-Mail:  Discovery_ao@hotmail.com )

Received:6/06/2022            Accepted:28/04/2022

Abstract: 

The research was carried out for the benefit of the General Commission for Scientific Agricultural Research during (2019-2021) on 27 phenotypes of cultivated (black) berries, in addition to 3 wild cultivars in order to evaluate them morphologically and genetically. Where the formal study was carried out in the sites of Kom and Khan Arnabah (Quneitra governorate), Darbel (Damascus countryside governorate) and Hawt (Suwayda governorate) by adopting 28 formal indicators. The molecular study was carried out in the laboratories of the General Authority for Biotechnology/Department of Plant Biotechnology/, using 16 ISSR technology primers.   Results showed a difference between the local (cultivated) mulberry cultivars about morphological and agricultural characteristics, where the average percent disagreement values (PDV) for the studied site were 0.30, and the morphological cluster analysis indicated the separation of berry cultivars in a group independent of the three wild cultivars, and the 1kh phenotypes has a single cluster. The molecular study showed genetic differences between the studied phenotypes, where the average percent disagreement values (PDV) were 0.72, all the primers used gave a polymorphism of 100%, and the molecular cluster analysis clearly indicated that the genotypes of each site were unique to an independent group (Al-Koum, Khan Arnabeh, Darbul). Mantel test showed a weak and insignificant correlation between morphological and molecular data (r = 0.27). The results also showed the efficiency of the ISSR technique in determining the degree of genetic variation and distinguishing between the studied phenotypes, thus this technique is an efficient tool in genetic diversity studies.

Keywords: berries, Shami cultivar, ISSRs, Morus nigra L., Genetic diversity, Polymorphism.

Full paper in Arabic: pdf