Accurate genetic identification and relationship analysis of poplar cultivars is necessary to establish commercial poplar plantations and select suitable breeding strategies. In this study, 91 poplar cultivars belonging to four sections (Aigeiros, Tacamahaca, Populus and Turanga) and inter/intra‐sectional hybrids were genotyped using 18 polymorphic simple sequence repeat (SSR) markers. In total, 222 alleles were amplified with an average of 12.3 alleles per marker. The mean polymorphic information content and power of discrimination were 0.706 and 0.813, respectively. Five SSR markers (ORPM_103, ORPM_247, GCPM_1048, GCPM_1255 and LG_X_19) constituted a core fingerprint and were sufficient to identify all the tested cultivars. With some notable exceptions, cultivars of the same species generally clustered together in cluster (UPGMA) and ordination (PCO) analyses. Flow cytometry indicated that 11 poplar cultivars were triploid. Among these, seven had three alleles at some loci, suggesting that SSR markers could indicate the ploidy level to some extent. This study provides useful genetic information for the identification and protection of poplar cultivars in China and offers a guideline for the selection of poplar crossing parents based on ploidy level and genetic relationships.

中文翻译：

---

基于SSR标记的91个杨树品种的遗传鉴定。

要建立商业化的杨树人工林并选择合适的育种策略，必须对杨树品种进行准确的遗传鉴定和相关分析。在这项研究中，属于四个部分（Aigeiros，Tacamahaca，Populus和Turanga）的91个杨树品种）和跨节间杂种使用18个多态性简单序列重复（SSR）标记进行基因分型。总共扩增了222个等位基因，每个标记平均有12.3个等位基因。平均多态信息含量和辨别力分别为0.706和0.813。五个SSR标记（ORPM_103，ORPM_247，GCPM_1048，GCPM_1255和LG_X_19）构成了核心指纹，足以识别所有测试的品种。除一些显着例外外，同一物种的品种通常以聚类（UPGMA）和排序（PCO）分析聚在一起。流式细胞术表明11个杨树品种是三倍体。在这些基因中，有七个在某些基因座上具有三个等位基因，这表明SSR标记可以在一定程度上指示倍性水平。