Assessment of Genetic Diversity among Elite Breeding Lines of Arabica Coffee (Coffea arabica L.) in Ethiopia using Simple Sequence Repeats Markers

: Despite being the center of origin and genetic diversity, there has been limited application of molecular markers in arabica coffee breeding in Ethiopia. In this study, the extent of genetic diversity and relationships of 48 elite breeding lines of arabica coffee from different geographical origins were evaluated using 14 SSR markers. The SSR markers amplified 105 alleles of which 104 are polymorphic with an average of 7.4 polymorphic alleles per locus. The average percent of polymorphism and Polymorphic Information Content (PIC) of the SSR markers were 98.81 and 0.79, respectively. The average genetic similarity coefficient among all possible pairs was 0.37 and ranged from 0.39 to 0.46 within the same geographical origin. The Unweighted Pair Group Method Using Arithmetic averages (UPGMA) cluster analysis placed the studied breeding lines into seven clusters with Jaccard’s similarity coefficient of <0.44. The results of this study demonstrated the powerfulness of the SSR markers and the presence of a high level of genetic diversity and wide genetic dissimilarity within and among elite breeding lines from the same and different geographical origins. The observed diversity could be utilized in the breeding program to improve productivity and maintain the typical quality profile of origin-based landrace coffees. The SSR markers could be used in future genetic analysis of arabica coffee germplasm to increase the efficiency of the breeding program in Ethiopia. The studied breeding lines could also be conserved and managed as an important source of genetic variability to be used in the future coffee improvement program.