AFLP and SSR markers for characterization and identification of Tunisian millennium olive varieties

Abstract Olive (Olea europaea L.) is one of the oldest agricultural tree crops in Tunisia, where its cultivation started before about 3000 years. Although the importance of millennium olives, studies about molecular biodiversity and evaluation are scarce. In order to investigate intra cultivar variability on the molecular level, millennium olive samples from nine different archeological sites were studied using AFLP and SSR techniques.6 AFLP primers amplified 237 reproducible bands of which 84 were polymorphic and 10 SSR loci revealed 37 alleles with a mean number of 3.7 alleles per locus and an average heterozygosity rate ranged from 40% to 100% with a mean percentage of 74%. The principal coordinate analysis (PCO) based on AFLP and SSR similarity matrix revealed that the genetic diversity was predominantly structured according to the morphological parameters of the fruit and the endocarp. The data obtained can be used for the varietal survey and construction of a database of millennium olive varieties in Tunisia and providing also additional information that could form the basis for the national design of breeding programs.