RESEARCH ARTICLE Ploidy levels and genetic diversity of Actinidia arguta (Siebold & Zucc.) Planch. ex Miq., A. kolomikta (Rupr. & Maxim.) Maxim., A. callosa Lindl., and A. melanandra Franch., accessions Sigita Bogac ˇiovien _ e . Laima C ˇ esonien _ e . Sezai Ercisli . Andrius Valatavic ˇius . Baltramiejus Jaks ˇtys . Saulius S ˇ atkauskas . Algimantas Paulauskas Received: 14 November 2018 / Accepted: 2 April 2019 Ó Springer Nature B.V. 2019 Abstract In the present study, we have performed a comprehensive comparison of different accessions of the genus Actinidia. Simultaneously, we conducted a study of genetic diversity in both female and male plants to assist in the implementation of breeding processes. Different ploidy levels, viz. 2x, 4x, and 6x, were determined for A. kolomikta (Rupr. & Maxim.) Maxim., A. arguta (Siebold & Zucc.) Planch. ex Miq., A. callosa Lindl., and A. melanandra Franch., species. The genetic analysis of Actinidia cultivars and clones at 14 nuclear microsatellite loci showed the that accessions possessed high levels of genetic variability. The genetic analysis conducted by using the STRUC- TURE population analysis software revealed high genetic variability between A. arguta cultivars and clones. Keywords Kiwifruit Á A. kolomikta Á Genetic diversity Á Ploidy levels Á Flow cytometry Introduction Investigations of the Actinidia Lindl. genetic resources are necessary for conservation of the germplasm and breeding of promising cultivars. The genus Actinidia comprises more than 76 species and approximately 120 taxa (Ferguson and Huang 2007). The species A. deliciosa (A.Chev.) C.F. Liang et A.R. Ferguson and A. chinensis Planch are the most widely-grown (Huang et al. 2002). Recently, the growth of A. arguta (Siebold & Zucc.) Planch. ex Miq. and its hybrid cultivars has become more widespread (Li et al. 2013). A. arguta, A. arguta var. purpurea (Rehder) C.F. Liang ex Q.Q. Chang, A. melanandra Franch., A. callosa Lindl., and A. kolomikta (Rupr. & Maxim.) Maxim., with edible berries, are distinguished not only by tolerance to low temperatures and a short vegeta- tion period, but also by the excellent nutritional value of the berries and hairless berry skin. These properties make the above-mentioned species valuable as novel berry plants for human health and wellbeing (C ˇ esonien _ e 2007; Bieniek 2012; Kaya et al. 2016; Latocha 2017; Skrypchenko and Latocha 2017). A. L. C ˇ esonien _ e Botanical Garden of Vytautas Magnus University, Z ˇ . E. Z ˇ ilibero Str. 6, Kaunas, Lithuania S. Bogac ˇiovien _ e(&) Á B. Jaks ˇtys Á S. S ˇ atkauskas Á A. Paulauskas Department of Biology, Vytautas Magnus University, Vileikos Str. 8, Kaunas, Lithuania e-mail: sigita.bogacioviene@vdu.lt A. Valatavic ˇius Software Engineering Department, Vilnius University Institute of Mathematics and Informatics, Akademijos Str. 4, Vilnius 08663, Lithuania S. Ercisli Department of Horticulture, Ataturk University Agricultural Faculty, 25240 Erzurum, Turkey 123 Genet Resour Crop Evol https://doi.org/10.1007/s10722-019-00775-9