Evaluation of molecular and morphological diversity of caper (Capparis spinosa L.)

The objective of this study was the evaluation of molecular and morphological diversity among 80 caper (Capparis spinosa L.) genotypes from the 12 regions of the central Zagros Mountains located in the west of Iran. The results showed a high level of morphological genetic variation among the caper samples. According to the morphological cluster analysis, 80 genotypes were clustered into five main groups. The 15 factors justified 78.7% of the total variation based on factor analysis. ISSR primers produced a total of 108 polymorphic bands (85.04%) from 127 bands and the PIC for primers ranged from 0.02 to 0.33. SCoT primers produced a total of 165 polymorphic bands (86.48%) from 190 bands and the PIC for primers ranged from 0.16 to 0.30. Ordination and cluster analysis by ISSR markers showed that the genetic relationships among all accessions could be separated into three major groups and by SCoT markers separated into six groups. The results did not show a perfect match between the molecular diversity groupings and geographical regions, because many natural factors and human activities shape the amount and pattern of genetic diversity in a plant population. SCoT and ISSR markers for the assessment of genetic diversity of caper germplasm were almost identical. The combined (ISSR + SCoT) markers haven't shown more information on genetic diversity than a single analysis of ISSR and SCoT. The results indicated the existence of dispersion and different levels of morphological variation and molecular genetic diversity in the genotypes collected from the west of Iran.