Maruni (maroni) su sorte europskog pitomog kestena (Castanea sativa Mill.) dobivene selekcijom, koje se od davnina uzgajaju radi proizvodnje krupnih i kvalitetnih plodova. Maruni su u Hrvatskoj sađeni na privatnim posjedima istočnih padina Učke, u okolici Lovrana i poznati su pod nazivom "lovranski marun". Do sada nije bilo znanstvenih istraživanja lovranskog maruna te nije poznato s kojim su biljnim materijalom nasadi podignuti, odnosno koliko je različitih genotipova zastupljeno. Ta saznanja ključna su za sve daljnje korake koje treba poduzeti kako bi se očuvali postojeći genetski izvori. Cilj ovoga istraživanja bila je analiza genetske raznolikosti stabala lovranskog maruna u postojećim nasadima, korištenjem mikrosatelitnih biljega. Istraživanje je rađeno na uzorku od 72 stabla, korištenjem 5 mikrosatelitnih biljega. Analiza je pokazala prisutnost 11 multilokusnih genotipova, što govori u prilog raznovrsnosti i bogatstvu svojti pitomog kestena na lovranskom području, koje još uvijek nisu taksonomski određene, a vode se pod kolektivnim nazivom "lovranski marun". Većina uzorkovanih stabala, 58, pripada istom genotipu, što se može tumačiti statičnošću u smislu introdukcije novih svojti na istraživano područje i forsiranjem, tj. ekstenzivnim uzgojem.Marrons are varieties of the European chestnut (Castanea sativa Mill.) obtained through selection, which have been grown since antiquity for the production of large and high quality fruits. In Croatia, marrons were planted on private properties on the eastern slopes of the Učka mountain, in the environs of Lovran, and are hence known as the "Lovran marron". There has been no scientific research of the Lovran marron to date, and it is unknown which plant material was used to raise the plantations, or how many different genotypes are represented. Those insights are crucial for any further steps to be undertaken in order to conserve the existing genetic resources. The aim of this study was to analyze the genetic diversity of the Lovran marron trees in the existing plantations, by using microsatellite markers. The study was conducted on a sample of 72 trees, using 5 microsatellite markers (Table 1). The analysis demonstrated the presence of 11 multilocus genotypes, pointing to the diversity and abundance of sweet chestnut taxa in the Lovran area, which have not yet been taxonomically defined and bear the collective name of the "Lovran marron". The majority of analyzed trees, specifically 58 individuals, had a uniform genetic structure and areassigned to the MG01 cultivar, which is therefore the most represented cultivar in the researched area, i.e. the one most often grown. However, not all trees are uniform, which is proven by the fact that the remaining 14 analyzed trees belong to 10 different gene pools. Of the 14 trees, 2 had not been grafted, but are found in the plantations together with the grafted marrons and are genetically specific as is to be expected. The remaining 12 grafted trees belong to 9 gene pools. Out of those, 5 trees share common alleles on all loci and are assigned the MG02 cultivar, whereas 7 trees were genetically unique and classified into 7 different cultivars (Tables 2, 3, 4 and Figure 1). Consequently, with regard to the "Lovran marron" operational taxonomic unit grown in the area of the Municipality of Lovran, although it is not taxonomically specified, on the basis of the genetic diversity analysis conducted using 5 microsatellite markers, it can be said to include several different genotypes, or cultivars, one of which (MG01) is present at a much higher frequency than others
