Genetic characterization of Slovenian pear germplasm by microsatellite markers and flow cytometryGostinčar, Kristina (Avtor) Osterc, Gregor (Avtor) Štajner, Nataša (Avtor) Luthar, Zlata (Avtor) Pyrus spp.peargenetic resourcesgenetic diversitySSRflow cytometryploidyIn this work, a total of 132 genetic resources from four distinct collections in Slovenia were analysed with a set of 14 microsatellite markers (SSR) to determine the genetic structure and diversity of the pear germplasm. In total, 242 distinct alleles were successfully amplified with an average of 17.3 alleles per locus and the results showed a high diversity of the germplasm with an average expected heterozygosity (He) of 0.82 and an average observed heterozygosity (Ho) of 0.68. Pairwise comparison reduced the number of unique genetic resources to 108 (19 % redundancy). The study also revealed 25 genetic resources with synonymy and 15 cases of homonyms. The cluster analysis of unique genetic resources and 7 reference varieties grouped the accessions into three main groups. The group A and C consisted mostly of a local genotype, while the group B included in majority international varieties. In addition, group A includes also P. pyraster and P. caucasica. Using a Bayesian clustering method revealed three main genetic groups, G1 and G2 with predominantly local genotypes, G3 with international varieties. Flow cytometry confirmed the presence of 10 triploid genetic resources in the population studied, representing 9.7 %. Phenotypic evaluation revealed significant differences between the early and late harvest groups for fruit height, width and weight, while there were no differences for stalk length and thickness. The results indicate a high genetic diversity of the local germplasm and underline the importance of preserving these varieties, which may be required for new breeding programmes.20252025-05-13 13:18:47Članek v reviji169126UDK: 575ISSN pri članku: 0304-4238DOI: 10.1016/j.scienta.2025.114091COBISS_ID: 235714563sl