Evaluation of genetic diversity of Prangos ferulacea ecotypes using RAPD and ISSR molecular markers

Prangos ferulacea L. is a member of the Apiaceae family. Considering the importance of this, industrial and forage plant, it is necessary to study the genetic diversity and determine the affinities  of its different species. In this study, the genetic diversity of 19 ecotypes of Prangos ferulacea collected from different regions of Iran was investigated using ISSR and RAPD markers. Five ISSR and eight RAPD primers were used to investigate the genetic diversity of the ecotypes. The RAPD primers showed a total of 44 scoreable bands from which 42 bands were polymorphic. Seven RAPD primers revealed 100% polymorphism. Out of the 21 scoreable bands produced by the ISSR primers, 18 bands were polymorphic. The mean values of PIC for RAPD and ISSR markers were 0.330 and 0.304, respectively. The mean valus of Nei's genetic diversity (H) for RAPD and ISSR markers were 0.332 and 0.396, respectively, and Shannon's index (I) for RAPD and ISSR markers were 0.48 and 0.55, respectively. Based on the information obtained from cluster analysis using UPGMA method, the ecotypes were divided into eight groups for the data obtained from two marker systems. Although there was a high genetic diversity among the studied ecotypes, the results of cluster analysis showed that the genetic diversity did not correspond to the geographical variation among the identified groups. In general, studies on P. ferulacea ecotypes showed that the RAPD and ISSR molecular markers were suitable for investigating the genetic diversity of this species, and were able to indicate a wide range of genetic diversity.