Genetic Characterization of Bay Laurel (Laurus nobilis L.) Populations Using Microsatellite Markers and Flow Cytometry

Turkey is one of the few countries that exports the highest quality bay laurel leaf and covers about 90% of the world bay laurel leaf trade. In this study, 95 bay laurel genotypes selected from flora of Hatay province for their superior characteristics were used. Selected genotypes were genetically characterized by 6 SSR markers and the DNA contents were determined by Flow Cytometry. No polyploidy was determined as a result of flow cytometry analysis and 2C DNA values were observed between 5.91 and 6.36 pg. As a result of the SSR analysis, a total of 82 alleles were obtained with a mean of 16.4 of 5 polymorphic loci, while LnD106 loci were observed monomorphic. The highest number of alleles (24 bp) was observed in the LnA2 locus. Generally, a low similarity is determined among the genotypes. The highest genetic similarity was seen in E6 and O6 genotypes with 80%. This situation revealed the importance of genetic diversity in Hatay bay laurel population. The results are important as regard to reveal and protect the genetic diversity of bay laurel existence in Hatay