Analysis of Genetic Diversity and Construction of a Core Collection of Ginkgo Biloba Germplasm Using EST-SSR Markers

This study analyzed the genetic diversity of Ginkgo biloba using EST-SSR markers, identifying 173,160 loci from 43,073 Unigenes. Researchers designed 43,731 primer pairs and selected 100 SSR primers, verifying 20 to assess 101 Ginkgo individuals from various regions. The findings revealed high genetic diversity, with Shannon’s diversity index at 0.993, expected heterozygosity at 0.566, and Nei’s genetic diversity index at 0.563. A core collection of 27 genetic resources was constructed, maintaining high retention rates for genetic diversity metrics. The developed molecular markers are effective for analyzing Ginkgo genetic diversity and will aid future breeding efforts.