GENETIC DIVERSITY IN EUROPEAN COLLECTION OF LOQUAT (ERIOBOTRYA JAPONICA LINDL.)

Loquat (Eriobotrya japonica (Thumb) Lindl.) was introduced to Europe in the 18^th century.
In Europe, it was grown in ordinary orchards from the beginning of the 20^th century.
At present, this species is recognized as an interesting alternative in the European fruit industry.
Germplasm collections from Spain and accessions introduced from Japan, Italy and Portugal were studied by means of RAPD markers.
Among 47 accessions, 33 highly reproducible markers were identified.
The polymorphism obtained allowed to distinguish 39 accessions.
Two groups of accessions, that shared the same combination of RAPD markers, could not be distinguished.
According to the records and pomological characteristics these accessions corresponded to bud mutations.
To improve the identification of closely related accessions, 34 sequences flanking microsatellites from Malus domestica L. were screened in a set of 40 accessions belonging to the collection. All sequences amplified SSR markers in the selected accessions.
According to these results, microsatellites appeared to be a useful alternative marker system for loquat genotype identification. Our results suggest that the genetic diversity of loquat introduced to Europe is very narrow. It is thought that several genotypes were also introduced from Japan.
The species could be propagated by seeds as well as by grafting and thus many budsports could have been developed.
Since the genetic variation was very narrower than expected, it appears to be necessary to broaden the genotype by means of introduction of new plant materials from Japan or China.

XXVI International Horticultural Congress: Asian Plants with Unique Horticultural Potential: Genetic Resources, Cultural Practices, and Utilization

M.L. Badenes, T. Canyamas, C. Romero, J.M. Soriano, J. Martinez, G. Llácer

RAPD, microsatellites, molecular markers, loquat

https://doi.org/10.17660/ActaHortic.2003.620.17