Genetic Diversity Study in Tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.) Discovered by Simple Sequence Repeats (SSR) Markers

Abstract

Tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.) is a globally important vegetable crop and enhancing its genetic diversity is critical for developing improved cultivars. This study evaluated the genetic diversity among eight tomato genotypes DVRT 2, IIHR 335, ATL 17-06, GAT 5, GAT 8, ATL 18-04, NTL 12-02 and GP 11 using 15 polymorphic Simple Sequence Repeat (SSR) markers out of 47 screened. A total of 87 alleles were detected, with an average of 6.00 alleles per locus, indicating substantial polymorphism. Major allele frequency ranged from 0.062 to 0.167, averaging 0.135, suggesting balanced allele distribution. The PIC values ranging from 0.501 to 0.845 demonstrated high genetic variability. Particularly, SSR287, SSR598 and TES856 were identified as highly informative markers with PIC values above 0.8. Cluster analysis grouped the genotypes into three main clusters, with genetic distances ranging from 0.67 to 1.00. DVRT 2 exhibited the highest divergence (1.00). The findings underscore a wide genetic base among the genotypes, offering valuable insights for future breeding programs aimed at improving yield potential, stress resilience and nutritional quality in tomato.