Introduction: Genotyping and evaluation of genetic variation and polymorphic information content of the locally cultivated pear (Pyrus communis L.) might play an important role in building the genetic bank. These are also immensely important for present and future pear breeding program in the region. Methods: In the current study, AFLP markers have been employed to estimate the level of genetic diversity and to assess the phylogeny among the seven most popular pear cultivars in Duhok city. Results: Eight selective primer combinations generated a total of 653 AFLP fragments from which 445 (68.2%) fragments were polymorphic. The number of visible amplified products per primer combination were varied and ranged from 66 to 96 bands. The highest percentage of polymorphism (78.4%) was observed by the primer pair P174/M182, while the lowest percentage of polymorphism (58.6%) was observed by the primer pair P174/M100. The highest PIC (0.85) was obtained with the primer combination P174/ M182, while, the lowest PIC (0.49) was obtained by the primer combination P174/M307. The genetic distance was ranged from 0.1348 (between Danimarki and Amreki cultivars) to 0.3131 (between Italy and Zaafaran2 cultivars). Based on the AFLP data, all the seven pear genotypes were successfully clustered into two separate clusters (C1 and C2) with an out-group of Itali cultivar. Conclusions: Overall, it can be concluded that there was high polymorphism among the studied genotypes. Also, it can be stated that the AFLP was a reliable and a powerful technique in genotyping and discriminating of respective pear cultivars.Evaluación de variantes genéticas y filogenia de la pera común (Pyrus communis L.) cultivada en la ciudad Duhok empleando AFLP como marcadores moleculares Check for updatesHow to cite this paper: Ali S H., Othman H E., Zibari P A A., Jubrael J M S. Evaluation of genetic variations and phylogeny of the most popular pear (Pyrus communis L.) cultivars in Duhok city using AFLP markers, Duhok, Iraq. Innovaciencia. 2018; 6(1): 1-10.

Introduction: DNA sequencing-based methods and nucleotide sequence analysis have become the most common molecular approaches currently used for molecular typing purposes and phylogenetic diversity analysis. Methods: In this study, the nucleotide sequence variations of Powdery mildew resistance gene marker (CH03c02) and the apple scab resistance gene (Vf2RAD) beside phylogenetic diversity of seven apple landraces have been investigated. The two-locus have been successfully cloned and their nucleotide sequences were determined across all studied landraces. Results: Results of sequence alignment of the Powdery mildew resistant locus (CH03c02), compared with that of the published sequence of the same locus of Discovery genotype (HiDRAS), revealed that the nucleotide variations of this locus ranged from 1 to 28 nucleotide substitutions across all seven apple landraces. Whilst, the nucleotide variations of VF2RAD ranged from 2-8 nucleotide substitutions across all the investigated landraces. The highest genetic distance (0.062) was between Amara and Barwari. Whereas, the lowest genetic distance (0.0015) was found between each of the Lubnani, Rechard, Ispartal, and the Ahmadagha. The nucleotide sequences of the two loci were concatenated and implemented to build a Neighbor-Joining tree. The seven apple landraces were successfully grouped into two main genetic clusters (C1 and C2) in the phylogenetic tree. Conclusions: It can be concluded that the cloning approach used in the current study was found to be very successful and helpful for obtaining the full nucleotide sequences of these two loci. The investigated loci were displayed nucleotide variations among the studied landraces. And, finding of these variations was allowed the distinguishing and discrimination of these landraces.