Unveiling Diversity in Fruits of Cornelian Cherry (Cornus mas L.) Genotypes from Western Türkiye

Cornus mas L. (cornelian cherry) is one of the fruit species that has attracted attention in recent years and is a widely used species from traditional consumption to modern industrial applications due to its high nutritional content, richness in bioactive compounds, and functional food potential. Türkiye is very rich in terms of dogwood genetic resources that can be grown from seed and used for different breeding purposes. This study aimed to characterize the variation in fruit/plant quality attributes and to assess the underlying genetic diversity among 30 C. mas L. genotypes using interprimer binding site (iPBS) markers. A comprehensive set of pomological traits (e.g., fruit size, weight, length) and biochemical parameters (soluble solids, titratable acidity, total phenolic content, and antioxidant capacity) was recorded at harvest. Overall, substantial variability was observed among the genotypes. Some accessions combined larger fruit size with higher soluble solids content and antioxidant capacity, whereas others produced smaller fruits but exhibited higher acidity or phenolic content, suggesting distinct potential uses for fresh consumption and processing. Genetic diversity was evaluated using 12 iPBS primers, which generated a total of 89 bands, of which 75.3% were polymorphic. The mean polymorphism information content value was 0.89, with values ranging from 0.77 to 0.99, revealing moderate-to-high genetic differentiation among genotypes. Cluster and multivariate analyses grouped the accessions into four major clusters, which were largely consistent with their pomological and biochemical profiles. Taken together, these results provide an integrated view of pomological, biochemical, and molecular variation in C. mas L. genotypes and identify promising genotypes that can be exploited in future breeding and conservation programs.