Analysis of genetic diversity among strawberry (Fragaria spp.) genotypes using RAPD molecular markers

Abstract

The strawberry plant (Fragaria spp.) is a crop of high economic, nutritional, and medicinal value. Strawberry fruits are rich in vitamin C and antioxidants and are widely favoured in both local and international markets. The objective of this research was to determine the genetic diversity, relationships, and similarity coefficients among some strawberry cultivars using molecular markers of Random Amplified Polymorphic DNA (RAPD). 13 strawberry cultivar samples were collected from the GoodSeed tissue culture laboratory, Da Lat. DNA from leaf samples was extracted by DNeasy® Plant Pro (Qiagen, the Netherlands) and amplified with 10 RAPD markers (OPA16, OPA17, OPA20, OPG09, OPG11, OPG14, OPG18, OPK01, OPK02, OPK03). A dendrogram was constructed using NTSYSpc 2.1 software based on the Unweighted Pair Group Method with Arithmetic Mean (UPGMA). The results showed that 10 RAPD markers generated a total of 138 bands, of which 113 were polymorphic (81.79%). Primer OPA20 showed the highest polymorphism rate (100%), while OPK03 showed the lowest (64.23%). Genetic distance coefficients ranged from 0.11 to 0.47, with an average value of 0.29. Cluster analysis using UPGMA in NTSYSpc 2.1 software classified the cultivars into five distinct groups, reflecting the level of genetic diversity among them and providing a valuable basis for strawberry conservation and  breeding programmes in the future.