Genetic diversity assessment of ancient mulberry (Morus spp.) in Lebanon using morphological, chemical and molecular markers (SSR and ISSR)

Abstract

Lebanon has ancient mulberry trees which are the remnants of the abundant orchards that dominated its lands during the nineteenth century. Lebanese mulberry germplasm has not been assessed yet. This study aims to collect local old rainfed mulberry accessions from different geographical regions and assess their diversity by using morphological and molecular markers (SSR and ISSR). Genetic diversity of 70 accessions of mulberry were evaluated by using 27 morphological traits. The dendrogram based on the morphological attributes showed a relative separation of the different accessions based on fruits color and taste. Molecular analysis was performed for the accessions by using selected SSR and ISSR primers. The primers marked a high discriminating power (0.7 to 0.89). The dendrogram constructed on the base of UPGMA method showed 13 different groups. The clustering patterns indicated no location nor local name specificity among mulberry accessions. The combination of SSR and ISSR primers was informative for estimating the extent of mulberry genetic diversity. It can be concluded that there is a high level of genetic diversity within mulberry trees in Lebanon. These results will be useful for mulberry germplasm management in terms of biodiversity protection and as a valuable source of gene pool for crop improvement.

Evaluation of genetic diversity in two Morus species in Syria, using molecular markers ISSR and SSR

“…On the contrary, Kadri et al (2021) found a high level of genetic diversity within 70 genotypes of different mulberry species from different geographical regions in Lebanon using the combination of morphological and molecular markers (SSR and ISSR).…”

“…The molecular characterization and analysis of Morus alba L. cultivars from Cuba, Costa Rica, Brazil, South Korea, Ethiopia, China, Japan, Italy and Spain with SSR markers revealed a genetic distance of 0.570 among the genotypes tested (Garcia-gómez et al, 2019). ISSR and SSR markers have been applied to study mulberry variation and relationships amongst cultivated and wild genotypes (Zhao et al, 2007), and also the use of the same markers showed a high level of genetic diversity within mulberry trees in Lebanon (Kadri et al, 2021).…”

The Darker the Better: Identification of Chemotype Profile in Soroses of Local and Introduced Mulberry Varieties with Respect to the Colour Type

“…The small, multiple sweet infructescences (soroses) are a consolidation of drupelets with remnants of perianth [10]. The colour of the soroses is not a reliable distinguishing feature for identifying between black and Foods 2023, 12, 3985 2 of 22 white mulberry species, as the latter shows colours ranging from yellowish white to pink, dark red, and black, with different shading as they ripen [11]. The main components of mulberry soroses are primary metabolites, e.g., sugars, organic acids, and proteins, which reach values of 1.44 g/100 g [12][13][14], that are higher than in most berry fruits [15,16].…”