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The genetic structure, diversity and population kinship of four strains of ornamental barb, Puntius tetrazona, viz. tiger, green, albino and rose barb, was studied through microsatellite markers.  Genomic DNA was extracted from dorsal fin tissue of 160 individuals (40 per strain) using kit and its protocol from Denazist Co.  PCR amplification was performed using four pairs of microsatellite primers (Sm17, Sm25, Ma106 and Ma109). PCR products were electrophoresed on 8% acrylamide gel and stained with silver nitrate. The results showed that all loci were polymorphic. A total of 21 alleles for four markers in four strains was found. The mean number of alleles per locus at the population level was 5.25, and the number of alleles per polymorphic locus varied between 3 and 6. Average number of the observed alleles in tiger, green, albino and rose barb strains were 3.25, 3.25, 4 and 3.25, respectively. The observed and expected heterozygosity averages were 0.24 and 0.49, respectively. Most cases significantly deviated from Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium (p≤0.01). The analyses of molecular variance showed high genetic diversity (97%) within populations. The F_st value was 0.03 which indicates the low genetic differentiation between populations. UPGMA cluster analysis based on Nei genetic distance showed two different populations inhabiting the regions. Therefore, the microsatellite markers used in this study were found suitable for the different strains, and the degree of diversity was very low between strains, indicating a high degree of kinship.

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The construction of molecular maps and identification of genomic regions controlling quantitative traits have great significance for plant breeders. In this study, a genetic analysis of quantitative trait loci (QTLs) affecting the heading date of rice was performed using an F2 population of a cross between two Iranian landrace cultivars, Domsephid and Gerdeh, comprising 192 plants. An approximately normal distribution was observed for the heading date in the F2 population. A genetic linkage map with 88 informative microsa-tellite markers (SSR) was constructed, which covered 1367.9 cM of the rice genome with an average distance of 18 cM between markers. Single marker analysis (SMA) and inter-val mapping (IM) procedures were used to detect the QTLs controlling heading date and QTLs identified were further confirmed using composite interval mapping (CIM). Six significant QTLs (LOD≥3.0) were identified for the heading date, of which three major QTLs mapped on chromosomes 6 (hd6), 7 (hd7) and 8 (hd8) had particularly high LOD scores and explained 23.5%, 19.8% and 20.5% of the total phenotypic variance, respec-tively. Three other minor QTLs detected for the heading date, located on chromosomes 1 (hd1), 3 (hd3) and 11 (hd11), accounted for 6.6%, 11.7% and 6.6% of the phenotypic variation, respectively. The additive effect of a single QTL ranged from 1.67 to 3.91 days. In the QTL hd6, alleles from Domsephid were responsible for reducing the heading date, while in the other five QTLs, alleles from Gerdeh caused a decrease in the heading date. The QTLs hd1, hd3 and hd8 showed over dominance effects for increasing the heading date, whereas the other three QTLs had partial to incomplete dominance effects for in-creasing (hd7 and hd11) and reducing (hd6) the heading date.

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The aim of this study was to identify different population broodstocks of Litopenaeus vannamei and effect of inbreeding and cross-inbreeding on genetic characteristics and inbreeding coefficient of offspring in the next generation. According to origin of broodstocks kept in hatcheries of Bushehr province in the first generation, different populations were identified through microsatellite method from Hybrid, High health and Molokai stocks then, in the next generations genetic characteristics of offspring from their inbreeding and cross-inbreeding were examined. The results showed that the amount of genetic diversity in Molokai and High Health stocks (0.46±0.09 and 0.50±0.07) was more than hybrid stock (0.38±0.06). The inbreeding coefficients of Molokai, High Health and hybrid stocks were 0.14, 0.31 and 0.41, respectively. Due to the low genetic distance between the hybrid and Molokai stocks, after mixing them together Molokai and High Health populations were introduced as the first generation broodstock. In the second generation, despite the high genetic diversity in the offspring of Molokai×High Health (0.47±0.12) and High Health×Molokai (0.39±0.08) than the offspring of Molokai×Molokai (0.19±0.04) and High Health× High Health (0.11±0.03), these values were reduced compared to the first generation. The lowest and highest inbreeding coefficients were related to the offspring of Molokai×High Health (0.268 ±0.18) and Molokai× Molokai (0.853±0.145), respectively. According to the results, it can be said that the lack of knowledge about the genetic characteristics of broodstocks and mating between individual relationships (full and half sib) can reduce genetic characteristics and genetic depression due to increased inbreeding coefficients in next generations.

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Grapes are among the world most planted horticultural crops. Since the last century, attempts have been made to improve the quality of grapes in the world. Meanwhile, the necessity of having knowledge about the history of progenies families led to the link between genealogy and breeding. Considering some previous mislabeling, in order to find out the accuracy of the controlled crosses as well as determining the possible parents and genealogy of the hybrid progenies, 23 grapevine genotypes were studied by using 14 SSRs loci. These progenies included 12 promising lines selected from 22 crosses as well as their parents that included four seedless and seven seeded cultivars from Iranian Grape Breeding Program, The highest similarity between a female parent and its progenies, which was obtained from dice similarity coefficient and cluster analysis, was about 0.65, belonging to 'Alibaba' and its three progenies (S54, S55, S40). Results rejected any cross-selfing in female parents and also discriminated progenies from parents. Due to possible common genetic backgrounds in the parents, assigning progenies to their parents by cluster analysis or allele counting was impossible. Therefore, parentage analyses were done within likelihood based assignment approach using CERVUS 3.0 software. By this approach, true parents could be identified from candidate parents based on calculated positive and negative LOD scores. Also, by using this approach, genotyping errors, which were previously derived from low number of SSR loci or similarity in the parents' backgrounds, decreased in the final results. In addition, full sib and half sib relationships between S55 and S54 with S40 were obvious. Furthermore, wherever prevention of inbreeding depression is required, the results could be used to select convenient parents for backcrossing.

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Mechanical damage due to harvesting, handling, and other processes is an important factor that affects the seeds quality. Seed damage results in lower grain value and more storability problem and reduces seed germination and seedling vigor and subsequent yield of crops. Tests were conducted to determine the percentage of physical damage (PPD) and percentage of loss in germination (PLG) of wheat seeds due to impact. The effect of wheat seed cultivar and impact velocity was determined. Wheat seed cultivars selected for testing included: Kohdasht, Maron, Simereh, Sardari and Zagros. Four impact velocities: 10, 20, 30 and 40 m s-1 were used. Results showed that effects of impact velocity and seed cultivar on seed damages were significant. PPD to seeds was higher than PLG in higher impact velocities. It found that the total damage of seeds increased from 4.17% (0.48 PPD and 3.68 PLG) to 73.32 % (47.59 PPD and 25.73 PLG) as impact velocity increased from 10 to 40 m s-1 for all wheat cultivars studied. Impact results indicated that Sardari wheat cultivar was more susceptible to PPD (27.39 %), while Maron seeds were more susceptible to PLG (14.70%). Among the cultivars studied, Sardari wheat seeds showed the highest level of total damage i.e.sum of PPD and PLG.

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Iran stands out as a significant center of genetic diversity for alfalfa (Medicago sativa) worldwide, harboring diverse types of this plant. Ensuring the authenticity of alfalfa populations and varieties is crucial for farmers and seed producers, as the genetic makeup of this species directly influences forage and seed yield quality. In this study, we developed a method to identify and differentiate key Iranian cultivated alfalfa populations using microsatellite markers. We collected random samples, each containing 100 seeds, from various alfalfa accessions. Nine microsatellite loci were screened and employed to differentiate these populations based on specific allelic genotypes. Notably, the MTIC233, BI90, ACT009, TC7, MTIC183, MS30, MTIC238, and AFCA11 markers exhibited the highest differentiation ability. The genetic distance analysis revealed that 5-B and foreign accessions, as well as 29-N and foreign accessions, were the most distant from each other. Conversely, 27-G, 9-H, and 21-R exhibited the closest genetic similarity. The results revealed that, accessions 9-H, 21-R, 27-G, 25-B, 5-B, and 2-G shared a common genetic background, suggesting their close relatedness. Our proposed method allows straightforward identification of target alfalfa accessions within a short timeframe (one to two days) without the need for DNA extraction from leaves.

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Eight pollinators (as pollen parents) and four CMS lines (as seed parents) differing in salinity and drought tolerance were evaluated using agro-morphological traits and microsatellite markers. Root yield, leaf weight, sugar content, sodium content (Na⁺), potassium content (K⁺), a-amino nitrogen content, alkalinity coefficient, molasses sugar, white sugar content, extraction coefficient of sugar, dry matter, sugar yield, and white sugar yield were evaluated. The genetic diversity of 14 individual plants within each parent (a total of 168 genotypes) was also assessed using 18 microsatellite (SSR) markers. The results showed that 43 and 32.6% of the total variation in agro-morphological traits could be explained by the first 2 principal components, which could discriminate salinity and drought tolerant parents. Based on SSR analysis, a total number of 104 alleles were detected with an average number of 5.7 alleles per primer pair and an average polymorphism information content (PIC) of 0.64 with the highest PIC belonging to EST-SSR FDSB502. Cluster analysis based on SSR markers clearly discriminated 112 plants belonging to pollen parents from 56 plants of seed parents. In conclusion, the SSR markers have been shown to be efficient and reliable for assessing genetic diversity in sugar beet crossing parents.

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In this research the possibility of mass reduction in a two-module cubic microsatellite with skin – frame structure is studied. Natural frequencies and effective mass distribution change by replacing isogrid structure with sandwich panel (honeycomb). Modal effective mass is a dynamic characteristic of structure and depends on natural frequencies, mode shapes, general masses and eigenvectors. Modal effective mass is a quantity that shows the importance of a mode when satellite is under acceleration loads through the baseplate. High modal effective mass shows high reaction loads on baseplate in corresponding frequency. Also acting dynamic loads are affected by distribution of modes in frequency range. The sum of effects of different modes creates significant reaction loads. Hence, study of frequency and effective mass changes by converting the structure design from isogrid to sandwich structure is necessary. In this paper, first two isogrid and sandwich structures with equal masses are compared. Then mass of sandwich structure is decreased such a way that natural frequencies of light sandwich structure approach natural frequencies of isogrid structure. In equal masses case, natural frequencies of sandwich structure are twice the natural frequencies of isogrid structure but effective mass distribution of isogrid structure is better along the launch direction. By changing the isogrid structure design to sandwich panel structure and optimization of the new structure characteristics a noticeable reduction in mass and improvement in modal behavior could be obtained.

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In the Alhambra (Granada, Spain), and in other Moorish locations, several individuals of the original variety of myrtle, the emblematic plant of their gardens, have been identified and genetically authenticated. After microsatellite analysis, we differentiated between the wild form (Myrtus communis L.) and two cultivated varieties: the one original to the Alhambra, the Moorish myrtle (subsp. baetica), and the variety introduced in more modern times (subsp. tarentina). The genetic and morphological differences between these two varieties confirm the taxonomic distinctness of the subsp. baetica. With very few individuals known, this Moorish myrtle is on the verge of extinction. The genetic identification offers the opportunity to restore a key element of this 14th-century garden and enhance the authenticity of a World Heritage site.

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Linseed is an important oilseed and fibre crop predominantly grown in India. The aim of the present research was to evaluate genetic diversity and patterns of relationships among the 58 genotypes through 10 morphological traits and 12 polymorphic microsatellite (SSR) markers. Euclidean analysis of agro-morphological traits grouped the 58 genotypes into four clusters of which cluster I was the largest with 20 accessions while clusters II and IV were most genetically diverse due to maximum inter-cluster distance. Principal component analysis revealed three traits accounted for more than 86% of the total variation. A total of 41 alleles were amplified with 12 SSRs having an average of 5.71 alleles per primer locus. The Polymorphic Information Content (PIC) varied between 0.18 to 0.78. Based on Jaccard's similarity coefficient, the genetic distance varied from 0.07 to 0.89 with an average of 0.54±0.10. The genotypes RKY-14, KL-213, LC-185 and Kartika were found to be the most divergent among all the genotypes studied on the basis of genetic distance. The most diverse genotypes identified in this study can be used in breeding programs to broaden the genetic base of the linseed germplasm.

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The awareness and conception of the genetic diversity in faba bean (Vicia faba) accessions are important for the enforcement of degree addressed to their usages and conservations. The aim of this work was to estimate the genetic diversity and population structure in Iraqi faba bean using SSR markers for utilization in crossing and variety development. To assess genetic variation and population structure among faba bean accessions, 25 microsatellite loci were exerted. The analysis of diversity indices in the set of faba bean accessions examined here showed that the microsatellites were informative for genotype characterization. In total, 72 polymorphic alleles were exposed to an average of 2.88 per locus and three unique alleles were detected. The average of PIC, gene diversity, marker index, resolving power and Shannon diversity was 0.513, 0.569, 1.671, 2.173 and 0.830, respectively. The patterns detected in the dendrogram and PCA divided 19 accessions into five distinct clusters with different levels of sub-grouping within the cluster. High-level genetic differentiation within a population or group (83%) was significantly greater than that among groups or populations (17%), as planned by Analysis Of Molecular Variance (AMOVA). The model of clustering, based on the analysis of STRUCTURE software, identified four groups genetically dispersed. These findings have additional importance in faba bean breeding as well as maintenance programs.
 

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Old traditional cultivars are valuable genetic resources for crop improvement, but a great number of them have disappeared in the past century. This study aimed to characterize traditional cultivars of different Prunus species collected in small family orchards in southwestern Spain and to evaluate their genetic diversity and relationships. One hundred and twelve accessions belonging to 36 traditional cultivar denominations were analyzed using eight SSR loci transferable across the genus Prunus. The most useful loci to analyze different Prunus species were UDP96-005, BPPCT-002, UDP98-410 and ps02a12. A total of 152 alleles were observed, and 112 were unique to certain species. Sixty-eight different genotypes were found, revealing the possible existence of homonyms among traditional cultivar names. The clustering analysis was consistent with the taxonomic classification of the different species studied and with the geographical origins of the accessions within each species. The results showed wide genetic variability of traditional cultivars of stone fruits grown in small family orchards, which highlights the need to preserve them using both in-situ and ex-situ strategies. Twenty-eight of these accessions are currently conserved ex-situ at the University of Sevilla, Spain. The use of highly transferable SSRs has been proven as efficient in multi-species surveys performed on-farm.
 

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Chickpea wilt caused by Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. ciceris is one of the major yield-limiting factors in chickpea, particularly in west and northwest of Iran. Simple Sequence Repeats (SSR) were used to determine genetic structure of Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. ciceris populations from three infected areas located in west and northwest provinces of Iran during 2016-2017. A set of six microsatellite primer pairs revealed 35 alleles in each locus with an average of 5.83 per locus. The PIC value varied from 0.20 (FOAG11) to 0.39 (FODF7) with an average of 0.27 per locus. The average number of effective alleles (N_e), Number of private alleles (N_a), allelic variability per locus (H), Shannon's Information Index (I) and percentage of Polymorphic Loci (%PL) in three populations were 1.33, 1.97, 0.2208, 0.357, and 74.29, respectively. The average genetic distance was calculated among the three populations. Nei’s pair-wise genetic distances between the populations varied from 0.0202 to 0.98. The total gene diversity (H_t) and gene diversities between subpopulations (H_s) were estimated to be 0.2208 and 0.2079, respectively. Gene diversity attributable to differentiation among populations (G_st) was 0.0585, while gene flow (N_m) was 8.0412. The AMOVA of genetic variation in Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. ciceris populations revealed that 5% of the variance occurred among populations and 95% within populations. PhiPT value was 0.054. The lowest genetic distance was found between Kurdistan and West Azerbaijan with Lorestan populations, while the highest genetic distance was observed between Lorestan and Kermanshah populations.