Evaluation of genetic differences and similarities of henbane populations and genotypes based on IRAP and REMAP retrotransposition markers

Henbane has high medicinal value due to hyoscyamine and scopolamine alkaloids. The genetic diversity of this plant has been evaluated using different markers. However, so far, there has been no report on the use of retrotransposon markers in studying genetic diversity and improving the quality and quantity of alkaloids of this plant. In this study, the genetic diversity of 10 henbane populations was investigated using IRAP and REMAP molecular markers. Among 36 possible combinations of 8 LTR primers, 7 combinations had appropriate and scalable amplification. In the REMAP technique, 11 ISSR primers were combined with 8 LTR primers, and of the 88 possible combinations, 12 combinations were scalable. The mean values of polymorphic information for IRAP and REMAP markers were 0.30 and 0.32, respectively, and the mean marker index for these two markers was 2.59 and 2.47, respectively. Taking into account these criteria, REMAP marker was more efficient than IRAP due to the more considerable role of microsatellites in the estimation of henbane genetic diversity. In the analysis of molecular variance using IRAP and REMAP markers, intra-population variation was estimated to be higher than inter-population. This finding can be due to the existence of many genetic differences in the individuals in the population in terms of amplified gene locations. It also indicates the heterogeneity within the population and the desirable diversity of these populations in northwest Iran. Cluster analysis based on IRAP marker failed to separate species, but REMAP marker could separate H. pusillus and H. reticulatus species to a high degree.