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Morpho-phytochemical screening and molecular diversity of pomegranate accessions grown in Halabja Governorate, Kurdistan Region-Iraq

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Abstract

Halabja governorate in the Kurdistan region-Iraq is famous for having high-quality pomegranate accessions. The current study was conducted to evaluate the morpho-phytochemical amount of pomegranate functional food and the genetic diversity as an important tool for the characterization of the genetic resources for germplasm management and the identification of the best genotypes for genetic improvement. There were highly significant morphometric differences (P ≤ 0.05) among 24 genotypes, whose mean values for fruit weight, peel thickness, and weight of 100 Arils, total flavonoid content (TFC) and total phenolic content (TPC), antioxidant activity, total soluble solid content (TSS) were 299.21 g, 3.47 mm and 38.59 g, 54.50,47.97 µg/ml, 21.08 µg/ml and 14.59 Brix, respectively. In addition, inter-simple sequence repeat (ISSR) was utilized to assess the genetic diversity of the collected pomegranate genotypes. Twelve random primers of produced products plus a number of the amplified primer bands ranging from 3 to 12 and total number of 83 amplified bands were produced, among which 78 bands were polymorphic and 5 bands were monomorphic. The highest, lowest, and mean values of polymorphic bands were (11, 3, and 6.5), respectively. The PIC values ranged from 0.58 to 0.90. The dendrogram clusters for all the selections showed dissimilarity coefficients ranging from 0.22 to 0.23 (G4 vs. G5) to 0.63 (G13 vs. G14), and five groups (A, B, C, D, and F) with a mean dissimilarity (0.49). According to the results, morphometric and biochemical properties are significant aspects of development, discernment, and classification. ISSR markers allow the identification of different selections and assessing the genetic similarity among pomegranate accessions, which would facilitate their use as genetic stock in breeding programs.

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Acknowledgements

The author would like to thank farmers Shakhawn Bawakochaki, Ahmad Ali Tape Toleke and Dahahir Sharif khurmali, as well as Sarwar Saber and Aram Akram for their assistances for collecting samples.

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  1. Department of Horticulture, College of Agricultural Engineering Sciences, University of Sulaimani, Sulaimani City, Kurdistan Region, Iraq

    Jamal Mahmood Faraj

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Faraj, J.M. Morpho-phytochemical screening and molecular diversity of pomegranate accessions grown in Halabja Governorate, Kurdistan Region-Iraq. Genet Resour Crop Evol 70, 2657–2670 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10722-023-01593-w

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