Genetic diversity of Tunisian and Indian date palm cultivars and genotypes revealed by AFLP markers

Abstract Background The date palm breeding programs need to discover useful genetic fingerprints to characterize cultivars and assess their genetic diversity. This study assessed the genetic diversity among thirty-nine date palm cultivars from Tunisia and India using six AFLP (Amplified Fragment Length Polymorphism) markers. Results A total of 360 loci were amplified, with 127 loci polymorphic (34.35%). The Jaccard's similarity coefficient ranged from 0.161 to 0.931, with the mean genetic distances of 0.568. AFLP's average marker index value was 7.28, with a resolving power of 10.91. The dendrogram showed a clear separation between Tunisian and Indian cultivars. Furthermore, the heat map analysis allowed the identification of 10 bands specific to the Indian accessions, which were not detected in Tunisian genotypes. Conclusions These loci could be linked to genes involved in the adaptation of the specie in Indian lands. The current finding can be used in the future breeding program by helping to select accessions adaptable to the specific environment.