Genetic diversity and population structure analysis of strawberry (Fragaria x ananassa Duch.) using SSR markers

Abstract In total, 18 simple sequence repeat (SSR) markers were used to analyze the genetic diversity and population structure of 59 accessions of cultivated strawberry (Fragaria x ananassa Duch.) from Korea, Germany, United States, United Kingdom, and Japan. In total, 101 alleles were detected with an average of 5.6 per locus and 21 specific alleles were identified. Notably, one genotype (Blonoli from Germany) possessed a maximum of 10 different unique alleles specific to each genotype. The gene diversity varied from 0.027 (EMPaEKO1B) to 0.791 (CFACT110), with an average value of 0.509. PIC values ranged from 0.026 to 0.762 (average 0.454). A model-based structure analysis revealed the presence of two populations. The accessions that were clearly assigned to a single population in which > 70% of their inferred ancestry was derived from one of the model-based populations. However, two accessions (3.4%) in the sample were categorized as having admixed ancestry. Here, we report detailed information on commercially grown strawberry accessions from five different origins using SSR markers. These results couldbe used for broadening the genetic base of commercially grown varieties.