DEVELOPMENT AND APPLICATION OF SSR MARKERS FOR GENETIC DIVERSITY ASSESSMENT IN GARLIC (ALLIUM SATIVUM) GERMPLASM

Abstract

Garlic (Allium sativum L.) is a globally significant but genetically complex species, propagated exclusively through vegetative means. This clonal propagation limits genetic improvement but has not prevented the accumulation of considerable intraspecific diversity. To facilitate molecular studies, this study aimed to develop a novel set of Expressed Sequence Tag-derived Simple Sequence Repeat (EST-SSR) markers and apply them to assess genetic diversity. A comprehensive in silico analysis of 289,142 unigenes identified 4,372 potential SSR loci. From these, a subset of 25 polymorphic SSR markers was used to genotype 30 diverse garlic accessions. These markers revealed 80 alleles, with an average of 3.2 alleles per locus. The newly developed EST-SSR markers proved to be highly effective for revealing genetic relationships and population structure, providing a valuable resource for future genetic conservation, characterization, and breeding programs in garlic.