Comparison of the effectiveness of ISSR and SSR markers in determination of date palm (Phoenix dactylifera L.) agronomic traits

Abstract Date palm (Phoenix dactyliferaL.) is extensively cultivated in the Middle East and in North Africa. Seven ISSR markers and five SSR loci were selected and used to evaluate genetic diversity in twenty-six Tunisian cultivars. ISSR primers amplified a total of 43 polymorphic DNA fragments. The average was 6.1 fragments per primer. The microsatellites examined in this study were highly polymorphic possessing a great number of alleles with an average of 7.2 alleles per locus. Principal component analyses based on Nei Genetic distances showed groups of cultivars with a common maturity period and a common fruit consistency. SSR markers discriminate the fruit characteristics subpopulations in a more convincing way than ISSR markers. The Mantel test emphasizes a significant correlation between genetic distance and fruit consistency. A significant difference was observed between soft and dry subpopulations using ISSR data and between semisoft and the other fruit consistency subpopulations using SSR data