Molecular diversity in persimmon (Diospyros kaki L.) cultivars growing around Hatay province in Turkey

Genetic relationships among Diospyros kaki L. growing around Hatay province in Turkey were assessed by randomly amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) assay. Ten decamer primers were selected from 50 primers. These primers yielded a total of 155 bands and 126 of them were recorded aspolymorphic. Pairwise genetic distances of the samples were used to construct dendograms using Unweighted Pair-Group Method of Arithmetic Average (UPGMA). The study suggests that the morphological differences among cultivars of persimmon might be the result of genetic differencesrather than the ecological or growing conditions. The study forms a basic contribution to the characterization of D. kaki population in Turkey