ABSTRACT
Background: Potato has a narrow genetic base which is due to its development, as it takes its genetic root from a few genotypes originated from South America
Objectives: The objective of this study was to assess the genetic relationships among potato [Solanum tuberosum L.] genotypes originated from different geographical regions
Materials and Methods: This study has rendered 25 useful SSRs and EST-SSRs that were located in pre-existing genetic maps, fingerprinted in a collection of the 47 potato genotypes from America, Europe and Iran
Results: The number of alleles per locus ranged from 2 to 9 with an average of 6.22 alleles per locus. UPGMA dendrogram, constructed from microsatellite data based on Jaccard similarity coefficient slightly clustered the American and European potatoes according to their geographical distribution. Iranian genotype, "Istanbuli", joined to a group with American genotype. The results indicated that American genotypes show the highest expected heterozygosity compared to the European genotype. This result was expected due to the narrow genetic base of European potatoes considering their origin from a limited number of introductions
Conclusions: It could be concluded that SSR is an appropriate marker for evaluating genetic diversity within and among potatoes from different geographical regions
ABSTRACT
The lpsA gene, a late acting gene in the biosynthetic pathway of ergovaline, a suspected causative agent for fescue toxicosis in cattle, has been cloned from Neotyphodium lolii, an endophytic fungus of Lolium perenne. In this study, a similar gene was detected in several strains of endophytic Neotyphodium spp. isolated from grass hosts endogenous to Iran using direct and nested-PCR assays. Except for Bromus tomentellus, most isolates from other hosts contained this gene. The 747-bp PCR products of the local strains had identical restriction patterns for all tested restriction enzymes. Accordingly, sequence analysis of the nested PCR product amplified from the internal segment of 747-bp band, showed 99% similarity with the corresponding region of the lpsA gene of N. lolii. It therefore appears that prevalence of the lpsA gene with its conserved nature among Neotyphodium isolates is mainly host dependent