Genetic structure of the date palm (Phoenix dactylifera) in the Old World reveals a strong differentiation between eastern and western populations.

ABSTRACT:

Background and aims

Date palms (Phoenix dactylifera, Arecaceae) are of great economic and ecological value to the oasis agriculture of arid and semi-arid areas. However, despite the availability of a large date palm germplasm spreading from the Atlantic shores to Southern Asia, improvement of the species is being hampered by a lack of information on global genetic diversity and population structure. In order to contribute to the varietal improvement of date palms and to provide new insights on the influence of geographic origins and human activity on the genetic structure of the date palm, this study analysed the diversity of the species.

Methods

Genetic diversity levels and population genetic structure were investigated through the genotyping of a collection of 295 date pal

SUBMITTER: Zehdi-Azouzi S 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4479755 | biostudies-literature | 2015 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature