Assessment of SCoT and DAMD molecular markers in genetic diversity and species delimitation of three moss species grown in Iran

This study was conducted to assess the efficacy of SCoT and DAMD molecular markers in genetic diversity of three moss species and compare them with ISSR marker. Another objective was to evaluate the suitability of these DNA markers in species identification (delimitation) in three moss species, including Neckera complanata, Homalothecium sericeum and Neckera crispa. To prevent ecological impact on results, all samples were collected from one locality. PIC and MI in three markers showed closely ranged values. Our results revealed that the average values of Rp and the number of species-specific bands in SCoT primers were more than those of DAMD and ISSR. It showed considerable capability of SCoT marker in discriminating individuals. The highest value of genetic parameters Na (1.08), He (0.15) and I (0.23) were obtained with SCoT marker showing the power of this marker in genetic diversity analysis. Moreover, dendrograms produced from SCoT and DAMD data indicated similar results in the placement of closely related species. ‏SCoT markers were shown to be more efficient than DAMD and ISSR markers based on the multiplex ratio (EMR), Rp, genetic diversity parameters (Na, He, I) and the number of species-specific bands. The findings demonstrated that the SCoT and DAMD markers could be applied for the estimation of genetic relationships and separation of two closely related genera. This is the first report of its type on the genetic diversity of mosses by application of SCoT and DAMD.