Phytochemical analysis and SCoT molecular Marker used to Determine genetic Diversity of many fig Accessions distributed in Various locations of Sulaymaniyah province

Abstract

Sulaymaniyah province, Kurdistan region, Iraq, is home to a large collection of wild and domesticated fig (Ficus carica L.) germplasms. But a lot of these valuable genetic resources have yet to be recognized or categorized by molecular markers. In this study, the identification and classification of 66-fig germplasms were done using phytochemical traits and SCoT (Start Codon Targeted Polymorphism) molecular marker. Total soluble solids (TSS), soluble sugar contents (SSC), total phenolic contents (TPC), total flavonoid contents (TFC), and antioxidant activity by DPPH all showed a large significant variation. There were 232 bands altogether, ranging from 13 bands for the SCoT03, SCoT12, SCoT14, SCoT15, and SCoT33, to 19 bands for the SCoT20. The polymorphic information content (PIC) ranged from 0.737 (SCoT3) to 0.983 in (SCoT21). The major allele frequency values ranged from 0.030 (SCoT21) to 0.500 (SCoT3). The number of alleles varied from 32 in SCoT3 to 63 alleles in SCoT21.  The Marker index (MI) values ranged between 9.58 in SCoT3 and 18.67 in SCoT21.   As well as, 15 SCoT primers were used to determine genetic diversity. The principal component analysis indicated that the fig accessions divided into 7.0 association groups. The dendrogram created by ward method classified the fig accessions into 5.0 clusters. Phytochemicals and SCoT marker data showed a wide range of diversity, with significant genetic variation across accessions originating from different populations. The conclusions of this study could aid in the conservation and further use of fig germplasms.