Genetic diversity and association of ISSR markers with the eleostearic content in tung tree (<i>Vernicia fordii</i>)

Abstract

Tung tree is a useful woody oil plant in the world. In this study, both the genetic diversity and biochemical traits were analyzed in order to improve the breeding methods on tung tree. The mean genetic similarity coefficient (Gs), the mean Nei’s gene diversity (h) and the mean Shannon’s information index (I) of tung tree were 0.7821, 0.2192 and 0.3424, respectively. In dendrogram based on UPGMA, 30 cultivars were divided into three groups, A, B and C, which displayed a descending trend on eleostearic content. A conclusion was drawn that ISSR makers associated with the biochemical trait, can be used in marker-associated breeding programs for tung crop improvement targeted at high eleostearic content variety.