Genetic Diversity of Wild Apples and Pears in the Forest Park of Starčevica, Banja Luka, Bosnia and Herzegovina
Th e increasing fragmentation and degradation of forest habitats and the hybridization
with cultivated varieties potentially threaten the genetic integrity of wild apple (Malus
sylvestris /L./ Mill) and wild pear (Pyrus communis L.). Wild apple and wild pear have
been included in the European Forest Genatic Resources Programme – EUFORGEN
priority lists for development of conservation strategies. Researches are required into
the genetic diversity and the structure of local populations to determine the most
suitable conservation policies for these species at diff erent scales.
In this study, the RAPD markers were used in order to evaluate interspecies genetic
similarity of wild apple trees and wild pear trees from the Starčevica Forest Park,
Banja Luka, Bosnia and Herzegovina. Primers OPA-05, OPA-07, OPA-09, OPA-
10, OPG-03, OPG-11, OPG-12, OPG-13 and OPAC-03 were used to analyse genetic
similarity of wild apple trees, while OPA-01, OPA-03, OPA-05, OPA-07, OPA-08,
OPD-04, OPD-14, OPG-03 and OPG-06 were used to analyse genetic similarity of
wild pear trees. Th ere was a high level of polymorphism among the analysed wild
apple trees, as well as among the wild pear trees, demonstrating a considerable
richness in terms of wild apple and wild pear genetic resources in the Starčevica
Forest Park. Th e signifi cant genetic diversity of wild apples and wild pears is present
between diff erent test polygones, while when it comes to diversity within the test
polygons, it can be concluded that very similar genotypes of wild apples and wild
pears generally prevail within a polygon.
Key words
Malus sylvestris (L.) Mill, Pyrus communis L., RAPD markers, genetic similarity