Assessment of genetic diversity and population structure of almond germplasm in Van Province, Türkiye, using iPBS-retrotransposon-based markers

The genetic characterisation ofnaturally occurring almond genotypes can guide the selection ofgenetic resources tobe used inthe breeding programme. Therefore, this study aims toassess the genetic diversity and population structure ofalmond germplasm comprising 50 accessions naturally occurring inVan, Trkiye, along with two commercial varieties (Pabu and Dokuzoğuz). Thirteen inter-primer binding site (iPBS) retrotransposon markers generated atotal of102 bands, ofwhich 95 were polymorphic. The average polymorphic band number per marker was 7.3, with arange of5 to13. Aformula yielding amaximum of0.5 resulted inpolymorphic information content (PIC) values between 0.27 and 0.43, with amean value of0.36. Unweighted pair group method algorithm (UPGMA), principal coordinate analysis (PCoA), and STRUCTURE analysis, based onBayesian clustering analysis, yielded consistent results, indicating that local populations (Akdamar and arpanak) were distinctly grouped, while commercial accessions were clustered with arpanak accessions. The diversity metrics and classification analysis utilising 13 iPBS-retrotransposon markers demonstrated that the iPBS-retrotransposon marker system possesses significant promise for evaluating the genetic variety and population structure of almonds.