Genetic Relationships of Some Mint Species Using Seed Storage Protein Pattern

Mints are herbaceous perennial plants with aromatic leaves that are cultivated for their essential oils. The essential oil of Mint used in pharmaceutical, perfumery and cosmetics applications. The aim of this study was to analyze the relationship between nine different genotypes of Mentha spicata and M. piperita collected from different regions of Iran according to the seed storage protein profile using the SDS-PAGE method. The electropherogram showed a total of 31 bands of proteins with the molecular weight ranging from 12 kDa to 103 kDa. Among the genotypes G1, G5 and G9 showed the maximum number (26) of protein bands while the minimum number (9) of bands was present in genotype G7. Cluster analysis based on the seed storage protein profile, using the Euclidean distance matrix and the UPGMA method, grouped the evaluated genotypes into three clusters. Five genotypes (G1, G4, G5, G8, and G9) were in group 1, group two contained genotype G3 and the rest of the genotypes were in the third group (G2, G6, G7). Cluster analysis showed that some of the genotypes of two different species of M. piperita and M. spicata were closely related to each other and were in the same group. With regard to M. piperita is a natural hybrid of M. spicata and M.aquatica, this result is expected. The protein variability analysis clearly showed that there was divergence among and within the studied genotypes. It was concluded that this study will be useful for the future breeding and conservation program of Mentha genotypes.