Determination of self-(in)compatibility in some Turkish cultivated and wild apricots

In this study, self-(in) compatibility of 34 wild apricot genotypes, called as Sakit apricots, sampled from Sakit valley located in east Mediterranean region of Turkey and 9 well known Turkish apricot cultivars were determined by using molecular methods. Genomic PCR with S-RNase and SFB-specific primers was conducted using the degenerate primers EM-PC2consFD and EM-PC3consRD for the amplification of the second intron region of the S-RNase gene. To amplify the first intron, the fluorescently labelled (JOE) forward primer SRc-F was used in combination with the reverse primer SRc-R. According to the results, Sc (self-compatible) allele is not present in all wild and cultivated materials. All wild genotypes had same S allele (S6S19) composition indicating they do not carry the SC-haplotype. These wild materials previously reported self-compatible by fruit set studies on field. Mutations rendering the S-locus non-functional in these genotypes can be supposed and checked in the future. The most important dried apricot cultivars of Turkey such as Hacihaliloglu, Kabaasi, and Cataloglu were observed to be self-incompatible cultivars