Molecular characterization of phylogenetic relationships in populations of the medicinal-ornamental imperial crown (Fritillaria imperialis L.) of Iran inferred from ITS sequences

Fritillaria contains up to 160 taxa in the family Liliaceae، through which imperial crown (F. imperialis L.) is of high medicinal and ornamental values and importance. Nineteen ecotypes of the species were collected from their natural habitats grown in 6 provinces of Iran during spring، 2011. Phylogenetic analysis was performed based on DNA sequences of the internal transcribed spacer (ITS) region of the nuclear ribosomal cistron. The phylogeny was constructed using neighbor joining and maximum likelihood inference methods. The analysis revealed a fair feasibility of ITS region DNA sequence for phylogeny of F. imperialis L. Results showed that the examined samples were evidently diverged into 3 distinct clades. Although، two yellow-colored samples as well as two red-colored samples، all collected from a common region، formed one clade، but they located at different groups according to their colors. The other clades also followed relatively reasonable distribution based on the geographical conditions and climate specifications. Separations through the clades were mostly supported with high bootstrap values. This study is the first phylogenetic analysis on the species based on ITS region.