Assessment of genetic diversity in some Iranian populations of Bunium persicum, using RAPDs and AFLPs

The genetic diversity of 20 Iranian populations of Bunium persicum has been evaluated with random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) and amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP) markers. Fresh leaves of seedlings from each population were used for genomic DNA extraction. Analysis of banding patterns of 15 RAPD primers and 17 AFLP primer combinations, revealed 192 (86%) and 228 (75%) polymorphic bands, respectively. The range of similarity coefficients within populations were 0.4-0.82 for RAPD and 0.39-0.96 for AFLP markers. No association was observed between similarity matrices of both the DNA markers. Genetic distance patterns between B. persicum populations, expressed by the RAPD and AFLP cluster analyses were relatively different. The resulting dendrograms based on AFLP and RAPD + AFLP markers were more similar when compared to that derived from RAPD analysis. The AFLP generated dendrogram was supported with the highest bootstrap values. The measures of relative genetic distances among populations did not completely correlate with geographical distances of places of their origin. Several populations of black cummin were represented as independent groups in the clusters, showing a high level of genetic diversity and unique genetic background. Knowledge of wide genetic diversity observed in the B. persicum populations provides important information for management of germplasm resources with regard to future domestication and breeding programs.