Gender identification in Siirt pistachio (Pistacia vera L. cv. Siirt) trees and saplings using the SCAR marker

The Pistacia genus has become widely spread in the area where other cultivated plants do not grow on sloped, stony, or rocky lands and in arid/semi-arid regions of Northern Africa, the Middle East, the Mediterranean of Southern Europe, and Western and Central Asia. The members of this genus are dioecious in nature. Gender identification in Pistacia species is economically important for pistachio producers. Crop production and gains can be delayed because of the long juvenile period ranging from five to ten years. Some morphological, biochemical, and molecular techniques are available to learn the gender of saplings of this genus. Molecular markers, however, are expected to enable a method that helps in gender identification at the juvenile stage. Fragments obtained from randomly amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) were cloned, and sequence-characterized amplified region (SCAR) markers with strong distinguishing properties were developed. In the current study, four primers (OPL11, BC156, BC360, and OPAK09) were tested, but only the OPL11 primer formed a reproducible band (about 261 base pairs) in female pistachios. The distinguishing RAPD band of the OPL11 primer was purified from the gel, cloned, and sequenced for female pistachio trees. The specific primers were synthesized for the amplification of about a 261-base pair fragment in female pistachio trees. The designed SCAR markers were applied to distinguish female and male trees and saplings of the pistachio plant, but specific bands with expected sizes were found only in female trees and some saplings of pistachio plants.