Inter Simple Sequence Repeat (ISSR) markers based genetic characterization of selected Delicious group of apple cultivars

Present study report genetic characterization in selected Delicious group of apple cultivars from Uttarakhand (West Himalaya) using Inter Simple Sequence Repeat (ISSR) markers. The samples were collected from three different cultivars (i.e. Red, Royal and Golden Delicious) representing six different locations/orchards at 1771 to 2780 m asl. Of the 45 screened ISSR primers, 14 produced 129 clear and reproducible fragments ranging from 220 to 1400 bp in size with an average of 7.92 fragments per primer. The ISSR markers revealed 8.26% to 52.89% polymorphism (Pp) in selected cultivars highest in Red Delicious from Khabrar location and lowest from Naugaoun location. Similarly, the expected heterozygosity (He) was in the range of 0.035 to 0.186 with highest in Royal Delicious from Khabrar and lowest from Naugaoun location. Analysis of molecular variance revealed 27% to 47% variance among cultivars and 53 to 73% within cultivars.