Evidence for clonal variation in 'Verdeal-Transmontana' olive using RAPD, ISSR and SSR markers

Genetic variability among 27 clones of the Portuguese olive cultivar 'Verdeal-Transmontana' was investigated using Random Amplified Polymorphic DNA (RAPD), Inter-Simple Sequence Repeats (ISSR), and microsatellite (SSR) markers. The ten RAPD primers amplified 153 reproducible fragments, of which 26 were polymorphic. The ten ISSR primers amplified 173 fragments, of which 65 were polymorphic. The four SSR markers identified 14 alleles (3.5 alleles per locus). DNA fingerprints were used to assess the genetic variability between clones. The clones fell into two major genotypic groups, with one cluster containing almost all the selections from the Alfandega da Fe sub-Region, along with some from the Vila Flor sub-Region and two out of three clones from the Foz Coa sub-Region. The second major cluster contained, almost exclusively, selections from the Vila Flor sub-Region.