Preliminary genetic characterization of the Allium cepa L. from Konjic in Bosnia and Herzegovina

MSc student: Maryam Golzardi 

Mentor: Assoc. Prof. Dr. Ayla Arslan

Allium cepa L. as a vegetable crop, is widely distributed in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The Federal Institute for Agriculture in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina, introduced Konjic onion, Allium cepa L. from Herzegovina region as a domestic variety in 2013. However, the Konjic onion has not been genetically characterized, yet. The purpose of the present study is to genetically characterize Konjic onion by the method of polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Addressing this, seven pairs of simple sequence repeat (SSR) markers, which are used for the characterization of onion varieties according to literature, were used. DNA samples extracted from Konjic onion and four other varieties (Ptujska Rdeča, Majski Srebrenjak, Holandski Žuti and Stuttgarter) of Allium cepa L., commonly found in the area were amplified by PCR. After the optimization of PCR conditions, data for Konjic onion was analyzed by polymorphic information content (PIC) value and Heterozygosity (H) value. The mean PIC and H values are determined as 0.74 and 0.78 showing high diversity and adaptation of Konjic onion respectively. Neighbor Joining (NJ) and unweighted pair-group method using arithmetic averages (UPGMA) dendrogram results show that Konjic onion and Stuttgarter was detected as genetically closest which has a shared root with Ptujska Rdeča. These results of genotypic analysis show consistency with the previous findings regarding the analysis of phenotypic traits, onion yield and chemical composition, suggest that Konjic onion is a more environmentally adapted variety compare to the other four samples from the Herzegovina region.