Genetic diversity of a European collection of loquat [Eriobotrya japonica (Thumb.) Lindl.] determined by molecular markers

Abstract

Loquat [Eriobotrya japonica (Thumb.) Lindl.] was introduced in Europe in the 18th century. It was first introduced as an ornamental tree. Later, when types with larger fruits were selected, it was grown because of its fruits. In Europe, it was grown in regular orchards at the beginning of the 20th century. At present, this species is an interesting alternative for the European fruit industry. A germplasm collection from a survey made in Spain and accessions introduced from Japan, Italy and Portugal was studied by means of RAPD markers. 34 highly reproducible markers were selected among 46 accessions. The polymorphism detected allowed us to distinguish 39 accessions. Our results suggested that, although a large number of new accessions were identified, the genetic diversity of loquat introduced in Europe is very low. It seems that a few forms were introduced from Japan. The species was propagated by seeds and developed many budsport, however the genetic base is narrow. To improve the identification of closely related accessions, eighteen sequences flanking microsatellites from Malus domestica L. were screened in a set of accessions. All sequences amplified SSR markers in the set of cultivars. According to these results, microsatellites are a useful alternative marker system for loquat genotyping.