title: Assessing molecular and morpho-agronomical diversity and identification  of ISSR markers associated with fruit traits in quince  (Cydonia  oblonga).
abstract: Quince is a deciduous tree known to the countries  around the Mediterranean since antiquity. Nowadays, quince is used as an  ornamental plant, and as a rootstock for pear trees, with its fruit being  appreciated mainly for production of jam and sweets rather than for raw  consumption. Quince leaves contain compounds with antioxidant, antimicrobial  and anticancerous properties that have been the focus of recent research on  pharmaceutical and medical uses as well as for food preservatives. An orchard  has been established in Greece, composed of quince varieties (Cydonia  oblonga, N = 49) collected from different sites of the country (mainly from  home gardens), constituting a unique quince gene bank collection for southeast  Europe. We made a phenotypic analysis using 26 morphological plus seven  agronomical descriptors coupled with molecular techniques in order to examine  the genetic diversity within the collection. Principal component analysis using  the 33 descriptors identified 10 components explaining the existence of more  than 70% of the total variation. Subsequent cluster analysis classified most of  the previously identified productive varieties of the quince orchard in the  same clade of a dendrogram. Molecular analysis generated by 13 inter-simple  sequence repeat primers amplified 139 bands, including 109 polymorphic bands,  indicating a level of polymorphism of 79%; mean gene diversity was calculated  to be 0.309. Using stepwise multiple regression analysis, a number of markers  significantly associated with fire blight susceptibility, yield, mean fruit weight,  citric acid content, soluble solid content, and fruit drop were identified.  Hence, data extracted by multiple regression analysis could be useful in  marker-assisted breeding programs, especially when no previous genetic  information is available.
authors.affiliation: Center for Research and Technology Hellas, Institute of Agrobiotechnology, Thermi, Thessaloniki, Greece.
authors.forename: I
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Ganopoulos
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Merkouropoulos
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Pantazis
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Tsipouridis
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Tsaftaris
mesh_terms: D005638:Fruit / Q000235:genetics*; D005819:Genetic Markers; D006115:Greece; D010802:Phylogeny; D011110:Polymorphism, Genetic / Q000502:physiology*; D040641:Quantitative Trait Loci; D027824:Rosaceae / Q000235:genetics*
chemical_list: D005819:Genetic Markers