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Thirty seven genotypes of Morus alba L. from the trans-Himalaya with white, pink and black fruit were studied to find out variability and relationship of fruit color and sampling location with total antioxidant capacity, total polyphenol content (TPC), total flavonoid content (TFC) and total anthocyanin content (TAC) in fruit. The ferric reducing antioxidant potential (FRAP) ranged from 34.2 to 46.2 μmol Fe(II)/g DW. TPC ranged from 1.8 to 8.3 mg gallic acid equivalent (GAE)/g DW. The TFC ranged from 0.4 to 0.9 mg quercetin equivalent/g DW. Two way analysis of variance (ANOVA) revealed that fruit color has no significant relationship with TPC and TAC. However, fruit color showed inconsistent effect on antioxidant capacity as determined by different methods. Sampling location has significant effect on antioxidant capacity, TPC, TFC and TAC. Interaction between fruit color and sampling location showed significant effect on antioxidant capacity and TAC. The study therefore showed that source of genotypes from different sampling location is more important as compare to fruit color in determining antioxidant capacity, TPC, TFC and TAC in M. alba fruit from the trans-Himalaya. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sequence-related amplified polymorphism markers were used to assess the genetic structure in three natural populations of Morus alba from trans-Himalaya. Multilocation sampling was conducted across 14 collection sites. The overall genetic diversity estimates were high: percentage polymorphic loci 89.66%, Nei's gene diversity 0.2286, and Shannon's information index 0.2175. At a regional level, partitioning of variability assessed using analysis of molecular variance (AMOVA), revealed 80% variation within and 20% among collection sites. Pattern appeared in STRUCTURE, BARRIER, and AMOVA, clearly demonstrating gene flow between the Indus and Suru populations and a geographic barrier between the Indus-Suru and Nubra populations, which effectively hinders gene flow. The results showed significant genetic differentiation, population structure, high to restricted gene flow, and high genetic diversity. The assumption that samples collected from the three valleys represent three different populations does not hold true. The fragmentation present in trans-Himalaya was more natural and less anthropogenic.