Intra and Inter Specific Profiling of Pakistani Quercus Species Growing in The Hilly Areas of District Dir Khyber Pakhtunkhwa

The intra and inter genetic diversity among 20 genotypes of Pakistani Quercus species viz., ten genotypes of Q. incana, eight Q. baloot and two Q. dilatata were analyzed using morphological characterization and proteomic profiling. A total of 14 morphological traits were scored for estimation of genetic diversity through descriptive statistics, traits similarity index and cluster plotting. Similarly, seven loci (bands) were detected in the collected germplasm of Quercus sp. Intra species locus contribution to genetic diversity (LCGD) was 42.9 percent in Q. baloot and 14.2 percent in Q. incana. Similarly, inter species LCGD was 71.43 percent in the collected germplasm. Out of seven loci, locus-1, 5 and 6 showed polymorphic in Q. baloot and locus 6 in Q. incana. Importantly, locus 3 and 4 was monomorphic in all collected lines and marked as generic specific locus for Quercus (sp.). SDS-PAGE profiling based on one-way cluster plotting successfully resolved the three species into separate clusters. The present data reflect that though the Quercus sp. showing intra and Inter species genetic diversity, but maintained species specific identity in the area regardless of environmental fluctuation. (author)