Paper Details

PJB-2025-133

Assessment of genetic diversity in Pakistani date palm (Phoenix dactylifera L.) cultivars by genotyping and SSR markers

 

Beenish Sadique, Aleena Sumrin, Shaukat Ali and Ana Caicedo
Abstract

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Date palm (Phoenix dactylifera L.) is a major fruit crop cultivated in arid and semi-arid regions and plays a vital role in the agricultural economy of Pakistan, understanding its genetic diversity is crucial for conservation, breeding, and sustainable crop improvement. As one of the top three fruit crops in the country, date palm is grown widely across Pakistan, except in the northern highlands. This study aimed to evaluate the genetic variation and population structure of 31 date palm cultivars, including both local and exotic varieties, collected from various regions of South Punjab, representing a key date palm-growing area with date plam genetic resources existing all over Pakistan. Sixteen SSR markers were initially screened, and ten were selected for genotyping. Principal component analysis (PCA) and cluster analysis revealed considerable genetic variation, with 14 alleles detected across six successfully amplified SSR primers. Among them, mPdCIR025 exhibited the highest polymorphic information content (PIC) value of 0.37, indicating its strong discriminatory power. Major allele frequencies ranged from 0.5484 (mPdCIR025) to 0.9193 (mPdCIR015), while gene diversity values ranged from 0.1436 to 0.4953. Cluster analysis grouped the cultivars into three main clusters, highlighting clear genetic distinctions between local and exotic genotypes. These findings offer valuable insights for breeding programs, conservation efforts, and the sustainable utilization of date palm genetic resources in Pakistan.

 

To Cite this article: Sadique, B., A. Sumrin, S. Ali and A. Caicedo. 2026. Assessment of genetic diversity in Pakistani date palm (Phoenix dactylifera L.) cultivars by genotyping and SSR markers. Pak. J. Bot., 58(4): DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.30848/PJB2026-4(1)  
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