Sweet cherry (Prunus avium L.) is a temperate fruit species whose production might be highly impacted by climate change in the near future. Diversity of plant material could be an option to mitigate these climate risks by enabling producers to have new cultivars well adapted to new environmental conditions. In this study, subsets of sweet cherry collections of 19 European countries were genotyped using 14 SSR. The objectives of this study were (i) to assess genetic diversity parameters, (ii) to estimate the levels of population structure, and (iii) to identify germplasm redundancies. A total of 314 accessions, including landraces, early selections, and modern cultivars, were monitored, and 220 unique SSR genotypes were identified. All 14 loci were confirmed to be polymorphic, and a total of 137 alleles were detected with a mean of 9.8 alleles per locus. The average number of alleles (N = 9.8), PIC value (0.658), observed heterozygosity (H_o = 0.71), and expected heterozygosity (H_e = 0.70) were higher in this study compared to values reported so far. Four ancestral populations were detected using STRUCTURE software and confirmed by Principal Coordinate Analysis (PCoA), and two of them (K1 and K4) could be attributed to the geographical origin of the accessions. A N-J tree grouped the 220 sweet cherry accessions within three main clusters and six subgroups. Accessions belonging to the four STRUCTURE populations roughly clustered together. Clustering confirmed known genealogical data for several accessions. The large genetic diversity of the collection was demonstrated, in particular within the landrace pool, justifying the efforts made over decades for their conservation. New sources of diversity will allow producers to face challenges, such as climate change and the need to develop more sustainable production systems.

Sea buckthorn (Hippophae rhamnoides L. ssp. caucasica Rousi) is one of the most important wild edible fruits, grown in Turkey for centuries without any chemical treatments. The plant is extremely resistant to adverse environmental conditions. In this study, the main agro-morphological and biochemical berry traits and, to a lesser extent, other plant morphological traits of 10 sea buckthorn genotypes sampled from the eastern Anatolia (Sivas province) region were assessed. Among the 10 genotypes, five of them presented a shrub growth habit, whereas five of them presented tree growth habit, with leaf area ranging from 2.56 to 4.22 cm². The majority of genotypes had an oblong berry shape with variable berry skin color ranging from dark orange to orange, light orange, and yellow. The weight of 100 berries varied from 13.85 to 23.87 g, while juice yield and vitamin C content was found to be 44.87–57.15% and 37.45–62.85 mg/100 g fresh berry base, respectively. Soluble solid content (SSC) was in the range of 12.56–14.67%. The genotypes exhibited a great variability in total anthocyanin content (from 9.1 to 38.7 mg/L), with relatively dark-orange sea buckthorn berries containing more anthocyanin than orange, light-orange, and yellow berries. Linoleic acid was the main fatty acid detected in the pulp of sea buckthorn berries, ranging from 24.11% to 36.37%, depending on the genotype. Investigated genotypes proved also to be rich in total phenolic content, showing at the same time great variability in this trait. The results obtained from the relatively limited number of genotypes show promising traits for further valorization of both horticultural and nutritional traits, suggesting potentially even higher variability, if more genotypes are going to be considered in the future.

Leaf samples of 226 cultivated olive trees were collected from traditionally managed olive orchards and genotyped with eleven consensual SSR markers. The proportion of shared allele distance was used for the estimation of distances between olive genotypes. Cluster analyses were performed using a Fitch–Margoliash least-squares algorithm. The number of different genetic subgroups of olive genotypes (K) was investigated using STRUCTURE analysis. The standardization of allele lengths was performed to enable the comparison SSR profiles of Croatian olive genotypes with olive profiles obtained with the same SSR primers in OleaDB and WOGB databases. Overall, 73 SSR profiles of known Croatian varieties and 53 profiles of unknown olive genotypes were differentiated. Synonyms were detected in 18 varieties, and we found intra-varietal differences in 15 varieties. Three genetic subgroups of olive genotypes were determined. Following allele length standardization achieved using nine referral samples, the genetic profiles of 126 cultivated olive genotypes were compared to OleaDB and WOGB databases, out of which 92 genotypes were found to be unique to Croatian olive germplasm. The results revealed the wide genetic diversity of olive germplasm beyond the known, registered varieties. The FAZ_oliveDB database containing the profiles of 126 Croatian olive genotypes was created and made available for public use.

Fragaria nilgerrensis Schlecht. (wild strawberry) is widely distributed in Southwest China, characterized by stress tolerance and the fruits of a notable peach aroma. So far there is only limited knowledge of variability and genetic structure in this species. Using AFLP markers, we investigated the genetic variability of 37 plants of F. nilgerrensis sampled in six main mountain areas of Sichuan Province and analyzed their genetic structure. Genetic similarity according to Nei and Li was used for cluster analysis based on UPGMA method and Agglomerative Hierarchical Clustering. Stratification of plants into more distinctive genetic groups was determined using Bayesian structure analysis. Six primer combinations produced a total of 1302 fragments of which 818 (62.8%) were polymorphic. Bayesian analysis showed the 37 plants of F. nilgerrensis grouped into five distinctive genetic groups. Most of the plants from the same mountain area clustered into the same genetic group, indicating each area as an area with the unique genetic profile. The genetic parameters analyzed here indicate a huge genetic variability of F. nilgerrensis in Sichuan Province. Our results provide reference data for surveying and protecting the germplasm resources of F. nilgerrensis that could be used in strawberry breeding programs.