GENETIC PURITY ASSESSMENT OF COMMON BUCKWHEAT VARIETY ‘DARJA’ WITH THE USE OF SSR MOLECULAR MARKERS

Abstract

In order to assess the genetic purity of common buckwheat variety ‘Darja’ which is the most commonly produced variety of this crop in Bosnia and Herzegovina, 10 SSR markers have been used. Five samples have been collected from different production regions in B&H (Breza, Nisici Plateau, Ustikolina, Bihac and Bosanska Krupa) and compared to the reference ‘Darja’ sample obtained from an ex situ seed collection from Slovenia. Seven out of ten primer pairs used managed to amplify SSR alleles. Analyses of molecular variance (AMOVA) showed a significant differentiation between the reference and all analyzed ‘Darja’ samples. Furthermore, the factorial correspondence analysis revealed a clear differentiation between the reference and ‘Darja’ samples from the most known production regions of common buckwheat in B&H clustering four out of five analyzed samples very close together. The most divergent one among the analyzed samples was the one from Ustikolina. Genetic purity of varieties of all of cross pollinated species produced in Bosnia and Herzegovina is questionable due to the general use of farm-saved seeds.