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ARS Home » Southeast Area » Byron, Georgia » Fruit and Tree Nut Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #259229
Title: Molecular characterization of peach [Prunus persica (L.) Batsch] germplasm in the United States using microsatellite markers

Author
item VIJI, G - Fort Valley State University
item HARRIS, D - Fort Valley State University
item Zhang, Dapeng
item Okie, William
item YADAV, A - Fort Valley State University

Submitted to: Recent Progress in Medicinal Plants
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: 6/1/2010
Publication Date: 7/23/2010
Citation: Viji, G., Harris, D.L., Zhang, D., Okie, W.R., Yadav, A.K. 2010. Molecular characterization of peach [Prunus persica (L.) Batsch] germplasm in the United States using microsatellite markers [abstract]. Recent Progress in Medicinal Plants. 45(8):S304.

Interpretive Summary: Peach is an important food crop. Much is still unknown regarding peach genetics and control of important traits. Novel types of peaches such as those with dark red flesh could be useful in terms of health benefits. This research is looking at a wide array of different peach types and what means can be used to study the DNA patterns that exist among them. Once the techniques are further refined to detect all the types, we may be able to use them to predict important traits.

Technical Abstract: Peach [Prunus persica (L.) Batsch] is an important medicinal fruit with immense health benefits and antioxidant activity. In this study, microsatellite markers were used as DNA fingerprinting tools for the identification and characterization of peach germplasm in the United States. Eleven microsatellite primers amplifying twenty-two loci were used to characterize 31 peach accessions. Alleles were detected using fluorescent-labeled primers and capillary electrophoresis. Microsatellite alleles were scored using the CEQ 8000 Fragment Analysis software and edited based on the bin list using a SAS program. Polymorphic information content, allele frequencies and heterozygosity were calculated using the program GenAlex 6.0 and Powermarker v. 3.0. Tenprimers revealed a high level of diversity and detected an average of 6.2 alleles per locus. The mean expected heterozygosity was 0.77. The probability of identity was lower than 0.001 demonstrating the high efficacy and reliability of these primers in genotype identification. Principle coordinates analysis revealed significantvariation among the accessions. A minimum of 5 loci was sufficient to discriminate all 31 accessions. This study indicates that microsatellite markers can serve as a DNA fingerprinting tool for peach cultivar identification, parentage and sibship analysis, and diversity assessment. These potential applications could be significant for genetic improvement of peach.