Assessment of genetic diversity in Elaeagnus latifolia L. by Inter-Simple Sequence Repeat (ISSR) markers.

Inter-simple sequence repeat (ISSR) markers were analyzed to study the genetic diversity and phylogenetic relationships among 88 accessions of Elaeagnus latifolia L. collected from the upper north of Thailand. Fourteen selected primers produced 278 discernible bands, with 264 (94.96%) being polymorphic, indicating high genetic diversity at the accession level. Jaccard’s similarity coefficient or genetic similarity (GSj) ranged from 0.50-0.79. Eighty-six out of 88 accessions could be distinguished, whereas only two accessions. H31 and H38, appeared to be genetically close to each other, with a genetic similarity coefficient of 0.79. Our results indicated that the genetic relationships between accessions were related to collecting area, and a high level of genetic diversity was founded in E. latifolia populations. Therefore, ISSR markers can be used to differentiate closely related individuals and assess genetic diversity in E. latifolia.