Genetic Analysis of Walnut Cultivars in China Using Fluorescent Amplified Fragment Length Polymorphism

Informative DNA fingerprints from 50 walnut cultivars (Juglans regia) in China were generated using amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP) markers to reveal their genetic diversity and relationships. Nine primer combinations were selected from 64 EcoR I/Mse I primer combinations to amplify the accessions. An average of 132 polymorphic loci per primer set was detected from the nine primer combinations. The discrimination power of each polymorphic marker (estimated by the polymorphism information content) ranged from 0.00 to 0.37 with an average of 0.19. A moderate level of genetic diversity was observed among the 50 cultivars. Their expected heterozygosity varied from 0.38 to 0.50 (average, 0.44), and Dice's similarity coefficient ranged from 0.53 to 0.86 (average, 0.70). The cluster analysis conducted using the unweighted pair group method of arithmetic averages method showed that all of the cultivars fell into five groups at Dice's similarity coefficient of 0.68. According to the comprehensive analyses based on the specific loci, similarity coefficient, and clustering results, six cultivars (Liaoning 1, Zixin, Shanhe 4, Zha 343, Tulare, and Chandler) were considered important germplasms of walnut cultivars.