Genetic relations among Moroccan Opuntia genotypes with different degrees of resistance to Dactylopius opuntiae

Hayat Akroud; Mustapha  El-Bouhssini; Rachid  Bouharroud; Sripada  Udupa; Fatima  Henkrar; Mohamed  Boujghagh; Tayeb  Koussa; Mohamed  Sbaghi

doi:10.56890/jpacd.v24i.480

Authors

Hayat Akroud 1International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas (ICARDA), Rabat, Morocco. 2Regional Center of Agricultural Research of Agadir, National Institute of Agricultural Research, Morocco. 3UniversityChouaïb Doukkali, El Jadida, Morocco.
Mustapha El-Bouhssini 1International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas (ICARDA), Rabat, Morocco.
Rachid Bouharroud 2Regional Center of Agricultural Research of Agadir, National Institute of Agricultural Research, Morocco.
Sripada Udupa 1International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas (ICARDA), Rabat, Morocco.
Fatima Henkrar 1International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas (ICARDA), Rabat, Morocco.
Mohamed Boujghagh 2Regional Center of Agricultural Research of Agadir, National Institute of Agricultural Research, Morocco.
Tayeb Koussa 3UniversityChouaïb Doukkali, El Jadida, Morocco.
Mohamed Sbaghi 4National Institute of Agronomic Research, Rabat, Morocco.

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.56890/jpacd.v24i.480

Keywords:

Cactus pear genotypes, tolerance, false carmine cochineal, genetic diversity, SSR markers

Abstract

Genetic diversity and relationship among a set of 18 cactus pear genotypes, with different degrees of resistance to cochineal scale insect (Dactylopius opuntiae), was estimated using eight simple sequence repeat (SSR) markers. The genotypes used belong to four Opuntia species (O. engelmanii, O. ficus indica, O. robusta, and o. dillenii). The analysis revealed a total number of 56 alleles (Mean = 7) and an average genetic diversity index of 0.76 with genetic distances ranging from 0.00 to 1.00 at eight microsatellite loci in 18 Moroccan cactus pear genotypes. All microsatellites used were found to be highly informative, with mean polymorphic information content (PIC) estimated at 0.72. Genetic relationship estimated using the neighbor-joining (NJ) method and the principal coordinate analysis (PCoA), showed that the 18 genotypes were successfully assigned to four clusters, separated according to their taxonomy distribution and their levels of resistance to D. opuntiae. The results of this study demonstrated that the Moroccan cactus pear genotypes evaluated are highly divergent and that these genotypes will be useful for future crossing programs to improve the genetic diversity in Opuntia for resistance to D. opuntiae.