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Assessment of genetic diversity in Achillea millefolium Subsp. millefolium and Achillea Millefolium Subsp. elbursensis using morphological and ISSR markers
Abstract
Yarrow (Achillea millefolium L.) is an important medicinal plant with different pharmaceutical uses. In this research, ISSR and morphological markers were used to assess genetic diversity in several accessions of yarrow from various geographical regions of Iran. Fourteen primers were used to amplify 228 bands out of which 199 (87.28%) were polymorphic. Cluster and Principle coordinate analyses (PCoA) showed that most genotypes were grouped based on their geographical regions. Analysis of Molecular variance (AMOVA) revealed that the differences among groups only accounted for 32.55% of the total variation, whereas differences among populations and within populations were 40.94 and 26.51%, respectively. Genetic distances among eight Iranian populations showed that the minimum gene diversity over loci was observed in North-Western (NW) population (0.021 ± 0.015), while the highest gene diversity was found in North (N) (0.129 ± 0.08) population. The results of morphological analysis in most cases corresponded to those obtained through molecular analyses.
... In the work of Guo et al. (2005) characterization was realized by AFLP markers and more recently, ma et al. (2010) demonstrated the ongoing introgression of diploid progenitor and tetraploid progenies in the A. millefolium complex by analysing single copy nuclear genes and AFLP markers. Besides taxonomic studies, several publications appeared in the last years about RAPD, ISSR (ebrahimi et al., 2012;Farajpour et al., 2011;Gharibi et al., 2011) andAFLP (rahimmalek et al., 2009) assessment of yarrow species. Characteristically, the authors compared populations from different geographical locations for conservation purposes without describing the phytochemical values of the plant material. ...
... Using the ISSR markers, the total number of detected bands was 188, about 30 % more than in case of RAPD primers. The percentage of the polymorphic bands reached 97.34 % exceeding the values of other related studies with A. millefolium (Farajpour et al., 2012;Gharibi et al., 2011). The mean number of polymorphic bands/primer was 15.25, ranging from 10 to 21, also higher than in RAPD analysis (Tab. ...
... Genetic relationships of the accessions collected from the wild show a connection with their original geographical habitats. This is similar to the findings of Iranian authors in case of some other yarrow species (Farajpour et al., 2011;Gharibi et al., 2011) although the geographic distances of the studied populations were much larger than in our study. In our case the most distant populations (200-600 km from Central Hungary) proved to have the smallest similarity with each other and with the central ones. ...
Yarrow (Achillea) species are known and utilized worldwide. In the recent study our primarily goal was to get information about the intraspecific diversity of A. collina in the Carpathian Basin. Five cultivated genotypes and six populations of wild origin were compared involving seven other species as control. Essential oil (EO) and proazulene (PA) contents were determined and the DNA samples were evaluated by RAPD (11 primers) and ISSR (12 primers) methods. The EO content varied between 0.010 (A. distans) and 0.365 (A. collina) ml/100 g DW, the PA content was found between 0.021 and 0.173% DW. The used RAPD markers provided 140 bands (97.14% polymorphic). They distinguished primarily among species and less characteristically among the A. collina populations. With ISSR primers we detected 188 bands (97.34% polymorphic). ISSR markers and combined RAPD and ISSR method enabled an informative intraspecific evaluation of A. collina accessions. The largest genetic distances were found between A. ptarmica and the members of sect. Achillea (genetic distances 0.52 - 0.72). Similarity is highest (genetic distance 0.27) among the populations of lower geographical distances. Nei's genetic distances of cultivated populations are also relatively low (0.23 - 0.36). Some wild accessions may represent valuable biological resources for breeding.
... (Asgarirad et al., 2010;Trumbeckaite et al., 2011). Nowadays, its spasmolytic, choleretic, treatment of wounds and anti-inflammatory activities has been applied for medicinal purposes (Rahimmalek et al., 2009a;Gharibi et al., 2011). Nineteen species of Achillea have been recognized in Iran (Rechinger, 1963). ...
... P11 [(CA)8 RT)] and P1 [(CA)8 G)] showed the highest and the least PIC values, respectively ( Table 3). The primers anchored at 3` end gave clearer banding pattern as compared to those anchored at 5` end (Pradeep Reddy et al., 2002;Rahimmalek et al., 2009c;Gharibi et al., 2011). Previous reports showed that the particular motifs can produce clearer banding patterns in special species, but in most species the AC or AG motifs were in priority. ...
... Previous reports showed that the particular motifs can produce clearer banding patterns in special species, but in most species the AC or AG motifs were in priority. In the Achillea genus more clarity of bands was observed in AG and AC motifs as it has been reported by Gharibi et al. (2011) for A. millefolium species. So, for A. tenuifolia the use of similar primers appeared to be more efficient in comparison with other motifs. ...
ISSR and morphological markers were used to detect genetic diversity in several genotypes of Achillea tenuifolia from different geographical regions of Iran. Fifteen primers revealed 247 polymorphic bands, out of which 214 (86.78%) were polymorphic. The dendrogram was constructed using SM coefficient and UPGMA method. The generated dendrogram revealed three groups. The accessions originated from central regions of the country separated from others in group 3. The principle coordinate analysis (PCoA) confirmed the results of clustering (>90%). For morphological traits, North-western (NW) accessions had the highest values of leaf length, leaf width, leaf area, essential oil yield and the latest flowering time, while the Northern one (AtN76) had the highest flower diameter and number of florets in main inflorescence. Results showed the relatively broad genetic base of in most of the accessions evaluated in this study. The lowest and the highest gene diversity were obtained in North-western (AtNW) group (0.18) and Northern (AtN) accession (0.28) respectively. High genetic variation of A. tenuifolia might be attributed to its reproductive propagation and seed dispersal. So, conservation strategies should be provided to maintain such diversity aiming to improve future breeding programs.
... A relationship between genetic variability and geographic distribution has been observed in several species of medicinal plants from various species such as Artemisia annua (Sangwan et al., 1999), Tanacetum vulgare (Keskitalo et al., 2001), Matricaria chamomilla (Solouki et al., 2008), Achillea millefoilum (Gharibi et al., 2011) and Achillea tenuifolia (Rahimmalek, 2012) in the Asteraceae family. The present study showed a high level of polymorphism (92.8%) among Iranian and European genotypes of chamomile, higher than the reported polymorphism for some other species in the Asteraceae family (85.44%, ...
... The comparison of molecular and morphological data for the evaluation of genetic variation in medicinal plants has been reported in numerous studies. Gharibi et al. (2011) assessed genetic variation in A. millefoilum using ISSR markers and reported a high positive correlation between the results of molecular and morphological data. A positive association between molecular and morphological markers in A. tenuifolia was also reported by Rahimmalek (2012). ...
Inter simple sequence repeat (ISSR) markers were used to assess the genetic diversity of 23 populations of chamomile. Ten primers were applied, producing 193 polymorphic bands. The polymorphic bands were analysed using Simple Matching (SM) similarity index and UPGMA cluster analysis. The resulting dendrogram consisted of four major groups which were in accordance to the geographical regions from which the populations had originated. Populations from North-western (NW), South-Eastern (SE), Central (C) Iran and Europe tended to be classified separately into groups. The highest gene diversity was
observed in populations from the Central regions of Iran (0.25). Principal coordinate analysis (PCoA) confirmed the results of cluster analysis, while morphological classification
was not related to molecular results. The population from Hungary had the greatest yield
of essential oil (0.88 gr/dw), whereas for Iranian ones the greatest and the lowest essential
oil yields belonged to NW (Aza ¼ 0.6 and Ard ¼ 0.7) and C (Isf 4, Isf 5 and Isf 6 ¼ 0.44) regions, respectively. The results of the present study could contribute to a better understanding and management of conservation and exploitation of the chamomile germplasm.
... Yarrow (Achillea milefolium) is an important medicinal plant with different pharmaceutical uses (Gharibi et al., 2011). It is one of the youngest evolutionary genera of the Asteracea family, which is present throughout the world (Farajpour et al., 2011). ...
... Rahimmalek et al. (2009) studied inter and intra genetic diversity of Achillea species using AFLP markers. Gharibi et al (2011) studied genetic diversity between two Achillea milefolium subsp (millefolium and elbursensis) using ISSR markers. Furthermore, there are no reports on the application of RAPD markers on genetic studies of yarrow. ...
The genetic relationship among 37 Achillea millefolium accessions was studied using Random Amplified Polymorphic DNA (RAPD) markers. Nine RAPD primers were used for the estimation of genetic diversity. All of the 9 primers were polymorphic. Nine RAPD primers generated 118 amplified fragments, most of which were polymorphic. The number of polymorphic bands produced in the 37 yarrow accessions range from 8 to 19. Primer g11 Produced 19 polymorphic bands, while primers e3 produced 8 polymorphic bands. The jaccards similarity indices (J), based on RAPD profiles, were subjected to complete linkage analysis. The highest genetic similarity was observed between Am4 and Am22 (81%), whereas the lowest value was found between Am33 and Am12 (18%). The dendrogram generated revealed five groups. The principle component analysis (PCA) indicated that first three principal component account for more than 62% of the total variation. This study confirms the efficacy of RAPD markers for the identification of plant genotypes. This information should be helpful for breeding and genome mapping programs.
... Based on the sequences obtained from fresh sample of A. millefolium, species specific primers can be designed on any of the DNA barcode. These species specific primers may facilitate the large scale screening of the medicinal plants with a simple diagnostic PCR reaction, without doing sequencing and sequence analysis (Gharibi et al., 2011;Kumar et al., 2021;Atiyha et al., 2022). ...
Achillea millefolium L is an important medicinal plant (member of family Asteraceae) sold in herbal markets with local names of Biranjasif or Gomadar. Adulteration in precious medicinal plants is alarming issue in the herbal markets of Lahore. It is quite difficult to identify dried samples of medicinal plants sold in the herbal markets on their morphological basis. This research was conducted on marketed samples of Biranjasif or Gomadar (Achillea millefolium) with context to molecular identification. For this purpose four different DNA barcode sequences (matK, nrITS, rbcL and TrnH-PsbA) were selected. In this current study 11 market samples along with fresh taxonomically identified sample as positive control were considered by using four molecular markers. The results indicated that fresh sample of A. millefolium was original that was confirmed on the basis of three different barcodes while all market dried samples did not show any relationship with A. millefolium with any of the barcode sequence. The current study provides the information of authentication and significance of molecular markers (DNA barcodes) for identification of medicinal plants.
... The findings indicate a logical relationship between genetic diversity and geographical location. Similar results related to the relationship between geographical and climatic location with genetic diversity of different plant populations have been reported by other researchers using RAPD and ISSR markers (Gharibi et al., 2011, Abou El-Nasr et al., 2013. ...
p class="042abstractstekst">To evaluate the genetic diversity of Iranian Narcissus genotypes (e.g., Shomal, Shastpar, Shahla, Yasuj, Shiraz-1, Shiraz-2, Kuchak-e-Atri, Dutch, Khosf-1, Khosf-2, Birjand, and Tabas), different RAPD and ISSR primers were examined at the Plant Breeding Laboratory of the Faculty of Agriculture, University of Birjand, Iran. In sum, RAPD and ISSR primers produced 189 and 80 high-resolution bands. The average values of PIC, Ht, Hs, Nm, DST, FDT, NA, Ne, H, and I indices were 0.287, 0.369, 0.089, 0.486, 0.279, 0.760, 1.952, 1.459, 0.282, 0.437 for RAPD markers and equal to 0.297, 0.380, 0.099, 0.524, 0.278, 0.732, 1.978, 1.495, 0.303, 0.467 for ISSR markers, respectively. The analysis of molecular variance based on the RAPD and ISSR markers showed 23 and 13 % variations for intra-populations and 77 % and 87 % changes for inter-population variabilities, respectively. Cluster analysis based on the RAPD and ISSR markers grouped genotypes into four clusters. Based on RAPD and ISSR markers, the PCoA analysis also showed that the first three components justified equal to 96.9 % and 97.9 % of the total variance, respectively, indicating the dispersion of the primers used. In general, it was concluded that the genetic diversity of narcissus species could be employed for breeding programs.</p
... ija na svetlosti, odnosno na površini zemlje . Vijabilnost semena se povećava sa dubinom zemljišta, procenjeno preživljavanje semena zakopanog na 32 cm je 17 godina . Sproveden je veliki broj studija o rasprostranjenosti, uslovima gajenja i agrobiološkim svojstvima hajdučke trave i kvalitetu njenog sirovog materijala (Judzentiene and Mockutė, 2010;Gharibi et al . 2011) . ...
The paper analyzes the influence of soil type and its agrochemical characteristics on the morphological and productive parameters of different yarrow (Achillea millefolium L.) populations. At 8 locations the following fertility parameters were analyzed: pH (H2
O), pH (KCl), CaCO3 (%), humus (%), total N (%), available P2 O5 and K2O (mg 100 g-1 soil). From the morphological parameters, the following were measured: plant height, number of leaves, number and diameter of the head, from the productive parameters, the fresh above-ground masses per plant, the fresh above-ground masses and seeds yield per hectare and the harvest index were analyzed. Among
the quality parameters of yarrow seeds, germination energy, total germination and weight of 1,000 seeds were examined. The largest number of heads (13.6), a diameter of heads (1.9 cm) and seed yield (386.0 kg ha-1) had the population of yarrow from the location Pančevo (Am1). In this variant, seeds with the highest germination energy (48.8%) and total germination (53.4%) were obtained. The population in this locality was in second place in fresh above-ground masses yield (15,604.0 kg ha-1). The highest fresh above-ground masses yield per hectare, was obtained in variant Am5 (location Starčevo “rit”). The lowest values of morphological and productive parameters and the weakest quality of seeds were found in the yarrow plants originating from soils with less natural fertility and soils located in urban areas.
Key words: seeds, soil type, yarrow (Achillea millefolium L.), locations
U radu je analiziran uticaj tipa zemljišta i njegovih agrohemijskih osobina na morfološke i produktivne osobine različitih populacija hajdučke trave (Achillea millefolium L .). Na ukupno 8 lokacija, analizirano je 6 različitih tipova zemljišta sa sledećim parametrima plodnosti: pH (H2O), pH (KCl), CaCO3 (%), humus (%), ukupni N (%), pristupačni P2O5 i K2O (mg 100 g-1 zemljišta). Od morfoloških osobina merene su: visina stabla, broj listova, broj glavica i prečnik glavice, a od produktivnih osobina analizirana je masa sveže nadzemne mase po biljci, prinos sveže nadzemne mase i semena po hektaru i žetveni indeks. Od pokazatelja kvaliteta semena, ispitivani su energija klijanja, ukupna klijavost i masa 1 .000 semena. Najveći broj glavica (13,6), prečnik glavica (1,9 cm) i prinos semena (386,0 kg ha-1) imala je populacija hajdučke trave sa lokacije Pančevo (Am1). U ovoj varijanti dobijeno je seme sa najvećom energijom klijanja (48,8%) i ukupnom klijavošću (53,4%). Populacija na ovoj lokaciji, po prinosu sveže nadzemne mase bila je na drugom mestu (15 .604,0 kg ha-1). Najveći prinos sveže nadzemne mase dobijen je u varijanti Am5 (lokacija Starčevo "rit"). Najmanje vrednosti morfoloških i produktivnih vrednosti i najslabiji kvalitet semena imale su biljke hajdučke trave poreklom sa zemljišta manje prirodne plodnosti i zemljišta koja se nalaze u urbanim zonama.
... ija na svetlosti, odnosno na površini zemlje . Vijabilnost semena se povećava sa dubinom zemljišta, procenjeno preživljavanje semena zakopanog na 32 cm je 17 godina . Sproveden je veliki broj studija o rasprostranjenosti, uslovima gajenja i agrobiološkim svojstvima hajdučke trave i kvalitetu njenog sirovog materijala (Judzentiene and Mockutė, 2010;Gharibi et al . 2011) . ...
The paper analyzes the influence of soil type and its agrochemical characteristics on the morphological and productive parameters of different yarrow (Achillea millefolium L.) populations. At 8 locations the following fertility parameters were analyzed: pH (H2 O), pH (KCl), CaCO3 (%), humus (%), total N (%), available P2 O5 and K2 O (mg 100 g-1 soil). From the morphological parameters, the following were measured: plant height, number of leaves, number and diameter of the head, from the productive parameters, the fresh above-ground masses per plant, the fresh above-ground masses and seeds yield per hectare and the harvest index were analyzed. Among the quality parameters of yarrow seeds, germination energy, total germination and weight of 1,000 seeds were examined. The largest number of heads (13.6), a diameter of heads (1.9 cm) and seed yield (386.0 kg ha-1) had the population of yarrow from the location Pančevo (Am1). In this variant, seeds with the highest germination energy (48.8%) and total germination (53.4%) were obtained. The population in this locality was in second place in fresh above-ground masses yield (15,604.0 kg ha-1). The highest fresh above-ground masses yield per hectare, was obtained in variant Am5 (location Starčevo "rit"). The lowest values of morphological and productive parameters and the weakest quality of seeds were found in the yarrow plants originating from soils with less natural fertility and soils located in urban areas.
... Molecular markers have been widely used to assess genetic variation, to categorize gene pools, and to define the genetic maps independent of age, physiological, and environmental conditions (Shojaiefar et al. 2015). Among the molecular tools, Inter Simple Sequence Repeats (ISSRs) have widely been used as dominant markers to track genetic relationships in plants since they offer advantages such as high polymorphism, high reproducibility, and easy handling (Gharibi et al. 2011;Verma et al. 2017;Muhaidat et al. 2018). ...
Ducrosia anethifolia Boiss is an aromatic vegetable and medicinal plant of Apiaceae family. In this study, morphological and essential oil studies as well as ISSR analyses were employed to investigate genetic diversity in 120 Moshgak accessions of 24 Iranian populations. High variations were observed in morpho-physiological traits (morphological and essential oil contents) of the populations in 2 consecutive agronomic years. In both studied years, the highest leaf (1% and 1.2%) and seed (2.46% and 2.9%) essential oil contents were recorded for the Abarkuh population. For ISSR analysis, 15 primer combinations were employed that produced 120 polymorphic bands. Dendrogram and STRUCTURE software grouped the accessions into four clusters although such grouping did not fit the geographic regions perfectly. Among the populations, Abarkuh and Kerman exhibited the highest genetic distance. Based on analysis of molecular variance (AMOVA), only 4.32% of the total genetic diversity was observed among the populations, while 95.68% was detected within the populations. Moreover, the studied populations exhibited a low genetic differentiation (Gst = 0.13) but a high gene flow (Nm = 3.26). It may be concluded that the results of the study provide new insights regarding the genetic diversity of Moshgak germplasm that will be useful for its conservation management and breeding programs for oil- and yield-related traits.
... The genetic correlation among the genotypes is related to taxon even though AMOVA showed a partial differentiation between CP and ESP (21%). The present findings are compatible with previous studies on Anthemis, Achillea, and Matricaria species which showed more genetic variation within populations than between species (Gharibi et al., 2011;Farajpour et al., 2012;Ebrahimi Fig. 2. Scatter diagram based on ISSR marker for the control (with suffix C) and early selected (germinated at osmotic potential -0.6 MPa, with suffix S) genotypes of studied species. ...
The genetic potentials of eight species of Achillea (A. millefolium, A. fillipendulla, A. biebersteinii, A. nobilis, A. eriophora ), Matricaria ( M. ricotita ), and Anthemis ( An. haussknechtii and An. tinctoria ) under drought conditions during the seedling stage were measured. Non-ionic water-soluble polymer polyethylene glycol (PEG, molecular weight 6000) was used to simulate water stress at five osmotic potential levels (0, –0.3, –0.6, –0.9, and –1.2 MPa). An acceptable threshold value for germination was osmotic potential –0.6 MPa, and the modest osmotic potential was –1.2 MPa for studied taxa. Seedlings of germinated at two control and osmotic potential –0.6 MPa (as an acceptable threshold value for germination) treatments were sowed in a field under rainfed conditions. Genetic differentiation of control plants (CP) versus early selected plants (ESP, germinated at osmotic potential –0.6 MPa) was studied using morphological, physiological, and molecular (ISSR) markers. No significant differences were observed between morphological traits of CP and ESP in all species, however, days to full flowering shortened in ESP. The physiological results demonstrate that under rainfed conditions, the ESP, in a quick response, collect osmolytes and amplify the activity of antioxidative enzymes to survive drought. The genetic relationship in the group of genotypes, that ISSR marker set it out, is affiliated to taxon even though AMOVA showed a partial differentiation between CP and ESP groups (21%). It was concluded that the selection of tolerating individuals at the seedling stage represents a likely positive strategy to have higher drought tolerance feature in plants under rainfed conditions.
... With the rapid development of molecular biology studies of Asteraceae germplasm identification and genetic diversity offer numerous reliable molecular marker information by means of Random Amplified Polymorphic DNA (RAPD) (Badr et al., 2012), Restriction Fragment Length Polymorphism (RFLP) (Ito et al., 2000), Inter-simple sequence repeat (ISSR) (Gharibi et al., 2011), Simple Sequence Repeat (SSR) (Simko, 2009), RAPD, ISSR and RFLP (Abd El-Tawab et al., 2010), amplified fragment length pol-ymorphisms (AFLP) (Czarnecki et al., 2008) etc. Nevertheless, DNA-labeling techniques still have many problems particularly the wild medicinal herbs such as low repeatability, high subjectivity of experimental results and unshared study data from different laboratories (Wang et al., 1999). ...
... Since A. tenuifolia does not have any rhizome (in contrast to A. millefolium) and seeds are the only way of its propagation, a wide variety of this plant is found in nature (Lofgren, 2002;Gharibi et al., 2011). ...
Achillea tenuifolia Lam. from Asteraceae family is one of the aromatic plants with great variation in both morphology and essential oil components. The aim of this study was determination of essential oil content and composition of A. tenuifolia populations in field condition. The seeds of seventeen populations of A. tenuifolia, collected from their natural habitats, cultivated in the research farm in Karaj, Iran. The aerial parts of the plants were collected at full flowering stage and their essential oils were obtained by hydro-distillation. The oils were analyzed by GC and GC/MS. Based on the results, the oil yield varied from 0.16% to 1.59% (w/w based on dried weight). Populations from Divandareh with 1.59% and Khoy2 with 0.16% had the highest and lowest oil yield, respectively. According to the cluster analysis, the populations were placed in two clusters. Germacrene D was the main compound in all oils, but the essential oils of populations in cluster 1 contained higher amount of germacrene D (up to 64.5% in Semnan population). α-Humulene (up to 15%) and 1,8-cineole (up to 11.7%) were the other major components in the oil of cluster 1 populations. The lower amount of these three compounds (in addition of E-β-farnesene and piperitone) and higher amount of more volatile compounds like p-cymene, β-phellandrene, camphor and α-thujone and presence or absence of other minor compounds placed the other populations in cluster 2. Each cluster divided in two groups because of different percentage of some component such as cubenol, viridiflorol, methyl hexadecanoate and phytol.
... [4] Achillea species such as Achillea tenuifolia,c alled 'Injibir' in local dialect, are very important components of the traditional medicine in Iran and used as an antiinflammatory, antifever, cough reliever, diuretic, menstrual regulator, spasmolytic, choleretic, appetizer, and wound healing agents. [5][6][7][8][9][10] In the Azarbayjan region, A. tenuifolia is commonly brewed to make as pecific tea, which helps to fight infections and common colds, especially in winters. Besides, A. tenuifolia is frequently used to make as pecial soup (called 'Injibir Soup' by the local people) to treat gastrointestinal disorders, kill worms in the intestines and prevent bleeding. ...
Achillea species and in particular Achillea tenuifolia Lam. is generally used as a food flavor and traditional remedies, especially in the initial developmental stage for medical conditions in the Mediterranean part of Iran. In this report, we extracted the essential oil from the aerial parts of the A. tenuifolia (collected from Khoy), at various developmental stages (i.e. vegetative, flowering and fruiting), characterize them and study their antibacterial activities. Of 46, 51 and 38 components found in the vegetative, flowering, and fruiting stages, respectively, 35 were present in all three stages, including oxygenated terpenes such as carvacrol (30.85‐34.11), germacrene‐C (17.87‐16.21), spathulenol (8.96‐7.26), β‐sesquiphellandrene 4.25‐4.11), t‐muurolol (3.25‐2.27) and α‐cadinol (3.29‐2.01). We witnessed that the composition of the essential oils varies with phenological stages and geographic regions. The essential oil demonstrated substantial antibacterial properties against both Gram‐positive and Gram‐negative bacteria, indicated by disk method, Minimum Inhibitory Concentration (MIC) and Minimum Bactericidal Concentration (MBC) assays. Except Pseudomonas aeruginosa, the essential oils of various phenological stages showed higher antibacterial activity against tested bacteria, with Bacillus anthracis as the most sensitive strain. Moreover, although antibacterial characteristics of the essential oil from the vegetative and flowering stages were similar (p‐value = 0.91), they were significantly different from those of fruiting stage (p‐value < 0.005 in both MIC and MBC tests). This emphasizes the importance of the developmental stage of the plant in the biological properties of its essential oil and justifies the widespread application of this plant in the vegetative stage.
... Comparison of essential oils composition in the present study E. Fathi, et al. Plant Physiology and Biochemistry 142 (2019) 43-52 with other reported studies in A. millefolium revealed significant differences (Jaimand et al., 2006;Gharibi et al., 2011;Abdossi and Kazemi, 2016). The latter is consistent with the general concept that chemical composition is affected by both genetical and environmental factors; as have been reported in several plant species belong to different plant families. ...
Yarrow (Achillea millefolium) is a medicinal plant from the Asteracea which biosynthesize different secondary metabolites especially terpenes and phenylpropanoids. To improve our understanding of the regulatory mechanisms behind the biosynthesis of these compounds we analyzed the expression of some genes associated with the biosynthesis of terpenes and phenylpropanoids in different tissues and in response to trans-cinnamic acid (tCA) as an inhibitor of PAL activity. Isolation and expression analysis of DXR, GPPS, PAL and CHS genes together with linalool synthase (LIS) as monoterpene synthase was conducted in different developmental stages of leaves, flowers and in response to trans-cinnamic acid (tCA). Differential expression of these genes observed in different tissues. tCA up-regulated the biosynthetic genes of monterpenes and down-regulated the biosynthetic genes of phenylpropanoids. Gene expression analysis in intact leaves and leaves without glandular trichomes showed that DXR, LIS, PAL and CHS are highly expressed in glandular trichomes while GPPS expressed ubiquitously. Analysis of essential oils composition showed that sesquiterpenes and monoterpenes are main compounds; in which from 57 identified compounds the highest were germacreneD (% 11.5), guaiol (%10.38), spatulenol (%8.73) and caryophyllene oxide (%7.48).
... Asteraceae) comprises more than 100 species, which are mainly distributed in Europe, Asia, Australia and North America (Rechinger, 1963). Nineteen species of this genus are found in different geographical and ecological regions of Iran (Asgarirad et al., 2010;Gharibi et al., 2011;Rustaiyan et al., 1998). Achillea species have been used as anti-inflammatory, antispasmodic, diaphoretic, diuretic, emmenagogue agents and for treatment of hemorrhage, pneumonia, rheumatic pain, and wounds since ancient times (Ghasemi et al., 2008). ...
Background & Aim: Achillea (Fam. Asteraceae) is a medicinal plant and different species of it have several uses in the folk medicine all around the world. Achillea species are used for feverish conditions, common cold, digestive complaints, slow healing wounds and skin inflammations. This study aims to investigate the essential oil composition and antioxidant activities from the aerial parts of Achillea eriophora collected from Khash city in Sistan and Baluchestan province. Experimental: Chemical composition of the essential oils was obtained by hydro-distillation method using a Clevenger type apparatus and analyzed by GC/MS. Results and Discussion: In the essential oil of Achillea eriophora 33 compounds representing 100%, were identified in which Camphor (21.55 %), Artemesia ketone (13.84%), Alpha-Thujone (11.85%), Borneole (8.94%), Yomogi alcohol (7.74%), 1,8-cineole (5.19%), Terpinene-4-ol (4.23%) and Myrtenol (3.10%) were the major constituents. In addition, the antioxidant activity of ethyl acetate and ethanolic extracts of Achillea eriophora was analyzed using the 1, 1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) free radical scavenging. According to antioxidant activity outcomes, the amount of IC50 of ethyl acetate and ethanolic extracts of the aerial parts of Achillea eriophora and also butylated hydroxyl toluene (BHT) as a standard was 245.20 ppm, 89.25 ppm and 45.58 ppm, respectively. Ultimately, it was highlighted that the antioxidant activity of ethyl acetate extract was weaker than ethanolic extract. The antioxidant activity of both of them were also weaker than BHT as a synthetic antioxidant. Some compounds like 1, 8-cineole and terpinen-4-ol can be responsible for antioxidant and antimicrobial activity, while Camphor and borneol have not been proven to be strong antioxidant agents as emphasized elsewhere. Recommended applications/ industries: The results of the present study showed that Achillea eriophora from Sistan and Baluchestan may be considered as source of natural antioxidant to be used in medicinal and food products to promote human health and prevent diseases.
... (iii) Herbal medicines consisting of crude, semi-processed or processed medicinal plants. These have a vital place in primary health care in developing countries [25][26][27]. ...
Medicinal plants play a beneficial role in healthcare and are commonly used in the prevention and treatment of diseases. Many medicinal plants are being destroyed at an unprecedented rate and threatened with extinction due to urbanization, industrialization, and rising number of people and of an aging populace, many medicinally important species are becoming scarce. Many measures were required in favour of conservation and sustainable use of medicinal plants viz., In situ conservation and ex situ conservation practices. Proper identification, collection, characterization, evaluation, propagation, disease elimination, storage and distribution are some of the major activities which are generally involved in sustainable conservation of important plant resources. Nearly 2,500 plant species belonging to more than 1,000 genera are used in Indian system of medicine. About 800 species are used by Industry, of which approximately 25 % are cultivated. As per an estimate of World Health Organization, about 80 % of the population of developing countries rely on traditional medicine, mostly plant-based drugs for their primary health care. Nowadays, medicinal plants are an important target of patent claims since they have proved to be of great interest to the international drug and herbal industry. This is due to the rising incidence of resistance, treatment failures and allergies to chemical drugs.
... Comparison of essential oils composition in the present study E. Fathi, et al. Plant Physiology and Biochemistry 142 (2019) 43-52 with other reported studies in A. millefolium revealed significant differences (Jaimand et al., 2006;Gharibi et al., 2011;Abdossi and Kazemi, 2016). The latter is consistent with the general concept that chemical composition is affected by both genetical and environmental factors; as have been reported in several plant species belong to different plant families. ...
Plant genetic diversity is the fundamental of plant-breeding programs to improve esirable characteristics. Hence, evaluation of genetic diversity is the first step in fruit-breeding programs. Accordingly, the current study was carried out to evaluate 25 superior walnut genotypes in respect of phenotypic and cytological characteristics. For this purpose, 560 walnut genotypes in southwest of Iran were evaluated based on UPOV and International Plant Genetic Resources Institute (IPGRI) descriptor. After a 2-year primary evaluation, 25 superior genotypes were selected for future phenotypic and genome size assessment. Flow cytometry was used to estimate genome size of the selected superior genotypes. A high genetic diversity was found in walnut population collected from the southwest of Iran. The selected superior genotypes had high yield, lateral bearing, thin-shell thickness (0.90–1.64 mm), high nut (12.54–19.80 g) and kernel (7.02–9.91 g) weight with light (L) to extra light (EL) kernel color which easily can be removed from the shell. Also, FaBaCh2 genotype turned out to be protogynous being important as a pollinizer cultivar. In addition to extensive phenotypic analysis, genome size was determined. The studied genotypes were diploid (2n = 2x = 32) and varied in genome size from 1.29 (FaBaAv2) to 1.40 pg (FaBaNs12). Correlation analysis showed that lateral bearing, budbreak date, nut size, and weight were the main variables contributing to walnut production. A linear relationship was found between genome size and nut weight (r = 0.527**), kernel weight (r = 0.551**), and nut size index (NSI) (r = 0.487**). Therefore, genome size can be considered as a strong and valuable tool to predict nut and kernel weight and nut size.
... With the rapid development of molecular biology studies of Asteraceae germplasm identification and genetic diversity offer numerous reliable molecular marker information by means of Random Amplified Polymorphic DNA (RAPD) (Badr et al., 2012), Restriction Fragment Length Polymorphism (RFLP) (Ito et al., 2000), Inter-simple sequence repeat (ISSR) (Gharibi et al., 2011), Simple Sequence Repeat (SSR) (Simko, 2009), RAPD, ISSR and RFLP (Abd El-Tawab et al., 2010), amplified fragment length pol-ymorphisms (AFLP) (Czarnecki et al., 2008) etc. Nevertheless, DNA-labeling techniques still have many problems particularly the wild medicinal herbs such as low repeatability, high subjectivity of experimental results and unshared study data from different laboratories (Wang et al., 1999). ...
... Asteraceae) comprises more than 100 species, which are mainly distributed in Europe, Asia, Australia and North America (Rechinger, 1963). Nineteen species of this genus are found in different geographical and ecological regions of Iran (Asgarirad et al., 2010;Gharibi et al., 2011;Rustaiyan et al., 1998). Achillea species have been used as anti-inflammatory, antispasmodic, diaphoretic, diuretic, emmenagogue agents and for treatment of hemorrhage, pneumonia, rheumatic pain, and wounds since ancient times (Ghasemi et al., 2008). ...
Background & Aim: Achillea (Fam. Asteraceae) is a medicinal plant and different species of it have several uses in the folk medicine all around the world. Achillea species are used for feverish conditions, common cold, digestive complaints, slow healing wounds and skin inflammations. This study aims to investigate the essential oil composition and antioxidant activities from the aerial parts of Achillea eriophora collected from Khash city in Sistan and Baluchestan province.
Experimental: Chemical composition of the essential oils was obtained by hydro-distillation method using a Clevenger type apparatus and analyzed by GC/MS.
Results and Discussion: In the essential oil of Achillea eriophora 33 compounds representing 100%, were identified in which Camphor (21.55 %), Artemesia ketone (13.84%), Alpha-Thujone (11.85%), Borneole (8.94%), Yomogi alcohol (7.74%), 1,8-cineole (5.19%), Terpinene-4-ol (4.23%) and Myrtenol (3.10%) were the major constituents. In addition, the antioxidant activity of ethyl acetate and ethanolic extracts of Achillea eriophora was analyzed using the 1, 1-diphenyl-2- picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) free radical scavenging. According to antioxidant activity outcomes, the amount of IC50 of ethyl acetate and ethanolic extracts of the aerial parts of Achillea eriophora and also butylated hydroxyl toluene (BHT) as a standard was 245.20 ppm, 89.25 ppm and 45.58 ppm, respectively. Ultimately, it was highlighted that the antioxidant activity of ethyl acetate extract was weaker than ethanolic extract. The antioxidant activity of both of them were also weaker than BHT as a synthetic antioxidant. Some compounds like 1, 8-cineole and terpinen-4-ol can be responsible for antioxidant and antimicrobial activity, while Camphor and borneol have not been proven to be strong antioxidant agents as emphasized elsewhere.
Recommended applications/ industries: The results of the present study showed that Achillea eriophora from Sistan and Baluchestan may be considered as source of natural antioxidant to be used in medicinal and food products to promote human health and prevent diseases.
... The presence of unique ISSR markers may be regarded as markers for the authentication of genetic resources and the establishment of property rights in accordance with the GATT (Badr et al., 2014a). Genetic distances among eight Iranian populations of Achillea millefolium showed that the minimum gene diversity over loci was observed in the North-Western population, while the highest gene diversity was found in a population in the North (Gharibi et al., 2011). Similar to our findings, the results of morphological analysis in most cases corresponded to those obtained by molecular analyses. ...
Abstract
Substantial variation in phenotypic traits and ISSR fingerprinting was observed among twenty
populations of Achillea fragrantissima (Forssk.) Sch. Bip. in Egypt. Such variation was reflected
in the clustering of the examined populations into two major groups: one representing populations
in the mountainous area of South Sinai and the other comprising populations growing
at low elevations in the middle of Sinai and the desert west of the Suez Canal from Suez in the
east to Cairo in the west. Five populations in the eastern part of Sinai near Nuwieba and Taba
on the Gulf of Aqaba were loosely assigned to the first group. The populations growing at
high elevations in South Sinai, under lower temperature and higher humidity, were characterized
by a higher number of total and polymorphic ISSR markers compared with other populations.
Unique ISSR markers were more often observed in the fingerprinting of seven populations
including five populations growing in the high mountains of Saint Catherine in South Sinai
and two populations growing at low elevations but atWadi Hof south-east of Cairo. Interestingly,
unique bands were found in the populations that possessed traits associated with larger plant
size and seed yield as well as better vigour. These are important criteria for the selection of
A. fragrantissima populations for conservation and sustainable commercial use.
Keywords: Achillea fragrantissima; conservation; genetic diversity; ISSR markers
... Guo et al. (2005) concluded from AFLP data that the North American polyploids were genetically from A. millefolium, having a closer or more direct relationship to diploid Achillea asiatica Serg. Gharibi et al. (2011) assessed extensive genetic differentiation among A. millefolium subsp. elbursensis and A. millefolium subsp. ...
Achillea millefoilum L. (Yarrow) is an important species of Asteraceae family with common utilization in traditional medicine of several cultures from Europe to Asia for the treatment of spasmodic gastrointestinal disorders, hepatobiliary, gynecological disorders, against inflammation and for wound healing. An extensive review of literature was made on A. millefoilum L. using ethno botanical text books, published articles in peer-reviewed journals, unpublished materials and scientific databases. The Plant List, International Plant Name Index and Kew Botanical Garden databases were used to authenticate the scientific names. Monoterpenes are the most representative metabolites constituting 90% of the essential oils in relation to the sesquiterpenes, and a wide range of chemical compounds have also been reported. Different pharmacological experiments in many in-vitro and in-vivo models have proved the potential of A. millefoilum with antiinflammatory, antiulcer, anticancer activities etc. lending support to the rationale behind numerous of its traditional uses. Due to the noteworthy pharmacological activities, A. millefoilum will be a better option for new drug discovery. The present review will comprehensively summarize the pharmacognosy, phytochemistry and ethnopharmacology of A. millefoilum reported to date, with emphasis on more in vitro, clinical and pathological studies needed to investigate the unexploited potential of this plant. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
... The presence of unique ISSR markers may be regarded as markers for the authentication of genetic resources and the establishment of property rights in accordance with the GATT (Badr et al., 2014a). Genetic distances among eight Iranian populations of Achillea millefolium showed that the minimum gene diversity over loci was observed in the North-Western population, while the highest gene diversity was found in a population in the North (Gharibi et al., 2011). Similar to our findings, the results of morphological analysis in most cases corresponded to those obtained by molecular analyses. ...
... With the rapid development of molecular biology studies of Asteraceae germplasm identification and genetic diversity offer numerous reliable molecular marker information by means of Random Amplified Polymorphic DNA (RAPD) (Badr et al., 2012), Restriction Fragment Length Polymorphism (RFLP) (Ito et al., 2000), Inter-simple sequence repeat (ISSR) (Gharibi et al., 2011), Simple Sequence Repeat (SSR) (Simko, 2009), RAPD, ISSR and RFLP (Abd El-Tawab et al., 2010), amplified fragment length pol-ymorphisms (AFLP) (Czarnecki et al., 2008) etc. Nevertheless, DNA-labeling techniques still have many problems particularly the wild medicinal herbs such as low repeatability, high subjectivity of experimental results and unshared study data from different laboratories (Wang et al., 1999). ...
... The presence of unique ISSR markers may be regarded as markers for the authentication of genetic resources and the establishment of property rights in accordance with the GATT (Badr et al., 2014a). Genetic distances among eight Iranian populations of Achillea millefolium showed that the minimum gene diversity over loci was observed in the North-Western population, while the highest gene diversity was found in a population in the North (Gharibi et al., 2011). Similar to our findings, the results of morphological analysis in most cases corresponded to those obtained by molecular analyses. ...
Substantial variation in phenotypic traits and ISSR fingerprinting was observed among twenty populations of
Achillea fragrantissima
(Forssk.) Sch. Bip. in Egypt. Such variation was reflected in the clustering of the examined populations into two major groups: one representing populations in the mountainous area of South Sinai and the other comprising populations growing at low elevations in the middle of Sinai and the desert west of the Suez Canal from Suez in the east to Cairo in the west. Five populations in the eastern part of Sinai near Nuwieba and Taba on the Gulf of Aqaba were loosely assigned to the first group. The populations growing at high elevations in South Sinai, under lower temperature and higher humidity, were characterized by a higher number of total and polymorphic ISSR markers compared with other populations. Unique ISSR markers were more often observed in the fingerprinting of seven populations including five populations growing in the high mountains of Saint Catherine in South Sinai and two populations growing at low elevations but at Wadi Hof south-east of Cairo. Interestingly, unique bands were found in the populations that possessed traits associated with larger plant size and seed yield as well as better vigour. These are important criteria for the selection of
A. fragrantissima
populations for conservation and sustainable commercial use.
... sustainable utilization of important medicinal plants (EI-Domyati et al., 2011;Gharibi et al., 2011;Sundaram and Purwar, 2011;Yao et al., 2008). However, few efforts have been made to the genetic diversity of R. tanguticum (Chen et al., 2009). ...
Rheum tanguticum Maxim. ex Balf. is an important medicinal plant endemic to Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau. Inter-simple sequence repeats (ISSR) was used to assess genetic diversity of four R. tanguticum populations from Golog Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Qinghai, China. Fifteen efficient primers were screened and amplified 342 polymorphic bands out of which 340 (PPB = 99.42%) were polymorphic. Nei's gene diversity (He) and Shannon index (I) revealed a high level of genetic diversity with He = 0.2385 and I = 0.3794. Further, the coefficient of gene differentiation (Gst) and gene flow (Nm) were 0.2054 and 1.9347, respectively. Analysis of molecular variation (AMOVA) showed that most of the genetic variation (71.48%) occurred within populations, whereas the variance among populations was only 28.52%. The UPGMA tree illustrated that populations from JK and DK were genetically close related, while the population from DW was found to be the most diverse from the other three. The high genetic diversity implies that the wild resources of this species could be restored soon if an appropriate and efficient protection strategy was employed. Our results also provided a useful method for evaluating the genetic diversity of R. tanguticum using ISSR markers which was suitable for further investigation.
... Rahimmalek et al. (2009) have studied inter-and intra-genetic diversity of Achillea species using amplified fragment length polymorphism markers. Gharibi et al. (2011) applied ISSR markers to the study of genetic variation in two sub-species of Achillea millefolium in Iran. ...
Cultivation and preservation of yarrow has recently attracted wide attention due to its beneficial properties; however, genetic variation of Achillea species is still relatively unknown. We used RAPD and ISSR markers to assess genetic diversity in 16 accessions of yarrow belonging to two species native to Iran. Seven ISSR and nine RAPD primers generated 187 amplified fragments, of which 159 were polymorphic. The similarity coefficient among Achillea tenuifolia accessions ranged from 61 to 86%, and from 40 to 84% among A. santolina accessions. A low similarity was observed between these two species (mean similarity = 0.36%). This low similarity is consistent with their geographical distribution. According to the results of cluster and PCA analyses, the two species completely separated from each other. These markers will aid in the identification of elite genotypes for domestication and breeding programs.
L Achillea. spp.) يکی از گياهان د ارويی مهم در درمان بيماری ها و صنايع غذايی محسوب می شود، وجود اين با هنوز گزارش ها ی محدود ی مورد در و تنوع ژنت روابط ي ک ی گونه بومادران های در کشور دارد وجود. تحقيق لذا حاضر به منظور (1) گونه درون و بين ژنتيکی تنوع ارزيابی ای برخی گونه های خودروی جنس بومادران (Achillea) سنندج شهرستان سطح در از استفاده با حومه و مولکولی نشانگرهای SSR و (3) ريزماهوره نشانگرهای پتانسيل و کارآيی بررسی ايی (SSR) و تفکيک در گونه تمايز اکسشن و ها گرفت انجام بومادران جنس بررسی مورد های. هدف، اين به شدن نائل برای ژنت تنوع ي ک ی در 32 اکس شن بومادران گونه هفت به متعلق با خودروی از استفاده 11 جفت نشانگر SSR ارز ي اب ی ش د. استخراج DNA روش به ژنومی CTAB برگ از گياهچه نرم و تازه های سه تا دو های هفته بذر کشت از حاصل ای اکسشن ب ها ه گرفت صورت بالک صورت. با تکثير از حاصل محصوالت از استفاده الکتروفور ژل ز متافور آگارز 5 / 3 جدا درصد شده و با دستگاه ژل عکس داکيومنت برداری ش د. نرم از افزارهای PopGene ، GenAlEx 6.2 ، DARwin 5 و PASTv3.18 محاسبه برای تشابه، ماتريس مولکولی، واريانس تجزيه ژنتيکی، پارامترهای تجزيه خوشه و ای تجز ي ه به م ؤ لفه ها ی اصل ی (PCA) استفاده شد. تعداد 13 پلی آغازگر جفت مورف SSR َ مجموعا ، 51 گونه بين در را الل مورد های نمودند شناسايی بومادران جنس بررسی. چند درصد متوسط به شکل چند الل تعداد و شکلی برابر ترتيب 51 / 23 و درصد 23 / 3 بود. چند اطالعات محتوای متوسط شکلی (PIC) برابر 330 / 4 بود. تجز اساس بر يه ملکولی واريانس 10 گونه درون موجود، واريانس درصد و ايی 31 گونه بين واريانس به درصد ايی داشت اختصاص. گونه بين کل تشابه ضريب متوسط جمعيت بين و ها به ها ترتيب 31 / 4 و 522 / 4 بود. خوشه تجزيه جمعيت ای نمود تفکيک همديگر از بااليی حد تا را ها (23)% گونه و مور های را مطالعه د داد قرار مجزا گروه سه در نيز. خوشه تجزيه نتايج با اصلی مختصات به تجزيه نتايج تشابه ماتريس و ای مقا قابل ي سه آن زيادی حدود تا و نمود تأييد را ها. ب ه اکسشن کلی طور تنوع بومادران بررسی مورد های طوری به دادند، نشان بااليی َ نسبتا ژنتيکی مق بيشترين که گونه درون تنوع به متعلق آن دار ا ي بود ی. نشانگرهای همچنين SSR تمايز و تفکيک ژنتيکی، تنوع تشخيص در بااليی پتانسيل و سودمندی جمعيت گونه و ها داشتند ها. لذا ا ي ن شناسا در نشانگرها يی ژنوت ي پ ها ی برتر برا ی برنامه ها ی اهل نمودن ی و به گياهان اين نژادی کمک شايانی خوا هند نمود. واژه کليدی های [ Downloaded from mg.genetics.ir on 2022-11-19 ]
Ducrosia anethifolia has been considered as a traditional aromatic vegetable of Apiaceae. In this study, 55 accessions of D. anethifolia, which belonged to 11 populations, were collected from different geographical regions of Iran including South, Center, North-West and South-East. Collected accessions were cultivated based on a randomized complete block design (RCBD) in three replicates. The essential oil content of the leaves varied from 0.7% in S-FALa-4 to 1.2% in NW-QAQa1 populations. The results obtained by the morphological analysis classified the accessions in three groups. South accessions were assigned to the first group, North-Western and the rest of South accessions were put in the second group. Central (Isfahan province) and South-Eastern ones were classified in the third group. The results of this study showed significant variation among the accessions for different morphological traits. Principle component analysis (PCA) indicated three components explaining 67.43% of the total variation. PCA results confirmed cluster analysis, but molecular and morphological results did not confirm each other. Nine SRAP primers produced 177 bands of which 113 were polymorphic. Relatively high polymorphism (64.6%) was obtained for the SRAP primers in the studied Ducrosia anethifolia accessions. The results, therefore, revealed that accessions were categorized in four groups based on their geographical origins. Principle coordinates analysis (PCoA) also confirmed the results of the cluster analysis in most cases. In this research, the accessions were not classified according to their geographical origins. Based on the analysis of molecular variance (AMOVA), a higher genetic diversity was observed within population (94.02%), in comparison to the among-population diversity (5.97%). High gene flow (Nm = 3.14) and low genetic differentiation (Gst = 0.137) obtained for the studied populations. The molecular data was also analyzed using the STRUCTURE software and accordingly, four groups were determined. Finally, S-FABi-1 and C-YAAb-1 revealed the highest genetic admixture among the accessions.
In this study, 63 accessions of Perovskia abrotanoides from 16 populations were collected from different parts of Iran. Four accessions from P. atriplicifolia were also included specifically from southeastern parts of the state. Evaluations of the genetic variation by morphological characteristics and ISSR markers revealed a high morphological variation among and within the studied populations. The lowest coefficient of variation (CV) was obtained for seed length (10.93%) while the highest belonged to leaf width (33.9%). For molecular analysis, thirteen primer combinations were used to produce 110 polymorphic bands. Cluster analysis with STRUCTURE software classified the accessions into three major groups. The results were in most cases confirmed by principal coordinate analysis (PCoA) and morphological classifications. According to AMOVA, 77.33% of the total genetic variation occurred within the populations, while only 22.67% was observed among them. The populations exhibited a relatively high genetic differentiation (Gst = 0.85) and a low gene flow (Nm = 0.36). Among the populations, SESiKh from southeastern Iran showed the highest percentage of polymorphic loci PPL (51.82%), with a Shanon index (I) of 0.29 and a heterozygosity of 0.21. Furthermore, the central and southeastern populations exhibited the lowest admixture of accessions, while the northern and northeastern ones showed the highest admixture. The results of this study may provide a better understanding of the genetic variation and evolutionary dynamics of the genus Perovskia for the beneficial improvement of its breeding programs.
Achillea millefolium L. is a well-known species amongst the members of Achillea
(Asteraceae) which grows naturally in Iran. In this study, the natural habitats of Achillea
millefolium L. were identified in different regions of East Azerbaijan province during the
growth season in 2011. The evaluation of morphological variation in 35 genotypes of seven
populations of Achillea millefolium L. was carried out to determine superior characters for
future breeding programs and medicinal purposes. In this study, 14 quantitative and qualitative
characters were evaluated. Flowering stems were used to investigate the quantity of essential
oil. Data of locations, vegetative and reproductive characters of each population and the amount
of essential oil obtained from each location were recorded. Results were analyzed using cluster
analysis with SPSS software. Populations were clustered based on vegetative and reproductive
characters and the amount of essential oil. The results of simple correlation analysis showed the
existence of significant, positive and negative correlations among some important characters.
Factor analysis was also used for defining the determinant factors. According to the factor
analysis, flowering stem length, internode length and leaf width constituted the main factors.
The populations of Achillea millefolium L. were separated into four groups by cluster analysis
using Ward method. The most similar populations were Pirbala, Kondlaj and Jolfa, while
Shabestar and Zonoz were separated from other populations. Also populations of Bonab and
Basmenj were clustered as a separate group. In conclusion, in this study from all populations,
Basmanj and Jolfa populations due to higher yield of essential oil as well as higher adaptability
to region climatic conditions are recommended for further physiological and breeding studies.
Wild or cultivated plants used in traditional and modern medicines are categorized as medicinal plants (MPs). Out of over 70,000 MPs, 3000 are traded and 900 are cultivated. Fragmentation/loss of habitats, unsustainable harvests, excessive grazing, invasive species, pollution, and climate change are destroying genetic diversity. Regular use of MPs in modern medicines, consumer/industrial merchandises, and increasing popularity of complementary and alternate (CAM) therapies are expanding national/global trade inciting irrational wild collections beyond regeneration potential of wild populations consequently losing species and genetic diversity. Investigations on endangered species indicated frightening levels of genetic erosion and dwindling population densities/sizes below minimum viable limits. Only a small fraction of known MPs have been evaluated for their genetic diversity and genetic erosion. Morphoagronomic, biochemical and molecular marker, and enzyme studies on wild and cultivated genotypes, populations, species, and geographical regions revealed genetic diversity with varied levels of polymorphism (14–100 %), number of alleles (2–14/locus), observed (0.0–1.0) and expected (0.06–0.84) heterozygosities, Nei’s gene diversity (0.12–0.36), Shannon’s index (0.08–0.51), gene flow (0.22–4.69), genetic distances (0.02–0.54), and similarities (0.02–0.98). Recovery, conservation, and cultivation programs initiated by governments have slowed down genetic erosion. Cultivation helped in relieving harvest pressure on wild flora and in preserving genetic diversity of some species. Existence of large number of species, paucity of adequate research funds, loss/degradation of forests, ever increasing local/world demand, genetic resource utilization with benefit sharing, and patent conflicts are the concerns that need to be resolved for conserving genetic diversity and preventing genetic erosion.
ISSR and morphological markers were used to assess the genetic variation in 117 ajowan accessions belonging to 25 populations collected from different geographical regions in Iran. For this purpose, fifteen primer combinations were applied to produce 120 polymorphic bands. The dendrogram delineated ajowan accessions into three major groups based on STRUCTURE software analysis. Principal coordinate analysis (PCoA) confirmed the results of cluster analysis but morphological classification showed no significant relationships with molecular results. Among the populations, Farsfars and Yazmol exhibited a relatively high genetic distance (0.54) but they possessed relatively low (255.16 gr/m2) and high (435.9 gr/m2) seed yields, respectively. Esfahfo and Yazsad populations exhibited a relatively high genetic distance (0.64) as well as high essential oil content (5.37% and 4.73%, respectively). While only about 30.33% of the total genetic variation was detected among the populations, 64.65% of the total variation was observed within the populations. The populations investigated showed a high genetic differentiation (Gst = 0.35) and a low gene flow (Nm = 1.85). From among the populations, the Eastern and Western ones accounted for the highest values of percentage of polymorphic loci PPL (%), Shanon index (I), and heterozygosity. The results of population structure analysis revealed high admixture of ajowan accessions in the populations. Finally, The results of the present study may contribute to a better understanding and management of conservation and breeding of the ajowan germplasm.
Rubus hyrcanus is considered as an important wild blackberry species scattered around the Caspian Sea. In this research, ISSR and morphological markers were used to assess genetic diversity in several populations of R. hyrcanus from various geographical regions of Caspian Sea in Iran. Twenty-five populations of R. hyrcanus from three regions (North- Western (NW), North- Eastern (NE) and Central (C)) and one population from R. discolor were applied in this research. Ten primers were used to amplify bands out of which 157 (77.13%) were polymorphic. Cluster and Principle coordinate analyses (PCoA) showed the higher similarity of NE and NW populations. Analysis of molecular variance (AMOVA) revealed that the differences among three collection regions only accounted for 28.09% of the total variation, whereas differences among populations within groups were 66.03%. Analyses among three regions showed that the minimum gene diversity over loci was observed in NW (0.16) and NE (0.17), while the highest one was found in C (0.238) region. Furthermore, narrow genetic base and relatively high genetic differentiation obtained for studied R. hyrcanus genotypes. The results of morphological analysis in most cases corresponded to those obtained through molecular analyses.
In this study, physical characteristics and quality parameters of some local cultivars of fig (Ficus carica L.) grown in Varamin, Iran were determined. The main cultivars grown in Varamin were Bidaneh, Paizeh, Zard, Siah bolol riz, Siah zoodras, Siah diras, Morabaii, Hallavi riz and Hallavi dourosht. In the pomological characteristics, fresh fruit weight ranged from 8.0 to 43.5 g. Fruit diameter ranged from 21 to 45 mm, the total amount of sugar ranged from 9.8 to 18.9%, the amount of total soluble solid ranged from 13.3 to 28.50%. In addition also skin color, internal color and skin cracks were investigated. Results show that all of physical characteristics had statistically significant differences. This study suggests that Varamin fig germplasm is diverse. Cluster analysis also allowed to clustering of nine cultivars into two main groups at near 20 of dissimilarity level.
The main objective of this work is to fingerprint some selected plant germplasm along the Western Red Sea coast of Sinai. Selection is based on the relative economic importance of these plants on the medicinal and pharmaceutical levels. Molecular markers such as RAPD, ISSR and AFLP technologies were used in this work to detect genetic diversity of the selected medicinal plants. The study showed that taxonomical locations can be distinguished for each subspecies (with as low as 0 to 1% polymorphism using AMOVA analysis) according to its molecular fingerprint but it cannot be recognized as a different subspecies.
Glycyrrhiza uralensis is an endangered and national-protected medicinal plant species distributed in semi-arid and arid areas of North China. This study addresses the genetic diversity and relationship between populations in different habitats by amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP). The plant materials consisted of 50 individuals from 5 different populating areas of Chifeng (Inner Mongolia), Hengjinqi (Inner Mongolia), Minqin (Ganshu), Aletai (Xinjiang) and Kashi (Xinjiang). Eight AFLP primer combinations generated a total of 1025 bands with 52.7% polymorphism. Unweighted pair group method based on arithmetic average (UPGMA) analysis was performed on Jaccard's similarity coefficient matrix. According to results, the genetic resources and diversity in wild populations of G. uralensis were rich (polymorphism = 54.3%, He = 0.1932). The polymorphism among populations was Chifeng > Hangjinqi > Minqin > Aletai > Kashi and the genetic diversity varied from 0.1794 - 0.2061 and was in the order of Minqin > Chifeng > Hangjinqi > Aletai > Kashi. Genetic diversity was significantly correlated with annual mean precipitation and soil pH. Aletai and Kashi populations had close genetic relationship, and so Minqin and Chifeng populations. Conservational efforts have to be strengthened for all populations of the plant species in different habitats.
The genetic and fitness consequences of habitat fragmentation on the dry grassland species Anthericum liliago L. (Anthericaceae) were examined. We used random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) markers to determine the distribution of
genetic diversity within and among 10 German A.liliago populations, ranging in size from 116 to over 2 million ramets. The genetic diversity of an A.liliago population was highly positively correlated with its population size. The overall differentiation among populations (Phi-ST=0.41,
P<0.0001, AMOVA) was considerably higher than expected for a species with a mixed breeding system. No strong correlation
(P<0.01) was detected between fitness parameters and population size and genetic diversity. The reproductive output (seeds
per ramet) was only highly correlated (P<0.001) with the proportion of flowering ramets in a population which could be caused by a more effective pollination in
large populations which are more attractive to specialized pollinators. The specialized A.liliago pollinator Merodon rufus (Syrphidae) and high abundances of solitary bees could only be found in A.liliago populations with more than 10,000 individuals. Genetic differentiation among the investigated A.liliago populations may have been caused by limited seed and pollen dispersal and a mixed mating system permitting a high selfing
rate. The differentiation among the small and isolated populations lacking main pollinators seems to be caused by genetic
drift.
Inter simple sequence repeat (ISSR)-PCR is a technique, which involvesthe use of microsatellite sequences as primers in a polymerase chainreaction to generate multilocus markers. It is a simple and quick methodthat combines most of the advantages of microsatellites (SSRs) andamplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP) to the universality ofrandom amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD). ISSR markers are highlypolymorphic and are useful in studies on genetic diversity, phylogeny, genetagging, genome mapping and evolutionary biology. This review providesan overview of the details of the technique and its application in geneticsand plant breeding in a wide range of crop plants.
Wild species of safflower, Carthamus oxyacanthus Bieb., is highly crossable with cultivated species, C. tinctorius L. and could be directly exploited in broadening safflower gene pool and improving the crop for biotic and abiotic stress
environments. In this study, genetic diversity among accessions of C. oxyacanthus and their relationships with cultivated safflower were evaluated using agro-morphological traits and polymorphic inter-simple
sequence repeats (ISSR) markers. Significant variation was observed among accessions particularly for seeds per capitulum,
seed yield per plant, harvest index and capitula per plant. Cluster analysis based on agro-morphological traits classified
the wild accessions in two groups according to their geographical regions, and separated them from the cultivated genotypes.
ISSR marker also revealed a high genetic variation among the accessions, and cluster analysis based on this marker divided
genotypes into four groups, with cultivated ones in a separate clade. Genetic variation observed among the wild safflower
germplasm at the DNA level was higher than the agro-morphological traits, indicating that ISSR is an effective marker system
for detecting diversity among safflower genotypes and their genetic relationships. Accessions of C. oxyacanthus with high genetic relationship to cultivated species could be used for interspecific hybridization in breeding programs of
safflower.
Megacodon stylophorus (Clarke) Smith is a perennial alpine herb endemic to the species-rich eastern Himalayan region. Its populations are locally scattered as isolated patches throughout this region. Genetic variation within and among six populations of this species was assessed using ISSR fingerprinting with 13 primers. High levels of genetic diversity exist within species (P = 69.83%, HT = 0.1949 and Hsp = 0.3047), while the within-population diversity is low (P = 11.21%, HE = 0.0532 and Hpop = 0.0792). Extraordinarily high levels of genetic differentiation were detected among populations based on various statistics, including Neis genetic diversity analysis (72.7%), Shannons diversity index (74.01%) and AMOVA (80.70%). That is, populations shared low levels of genetic identity (I = 0.8203 0.0430). This genetic structure was probably due to severe genetic drift of the small-sized patchy populations resulting from postglacial habitat fragmentations. The observed genetic structure of the populations implies that as many populations as possible should be considered for any in situ and ex situ conservation practice on this species.
Thymus
daenensis is an aromatic medicinal plant endemic to Iran. We used inter simple sequence repeat (ISSR) markers to detect genetic polymorphism in this herb using 17 T. daenensis accessions collected from different geographic regions in Iran. The 15 primers chosen for analysis revealed 256 bands, of which 228 (88.9%) were polymorphic. Jaccard’s similarity indices based on ISSR profiles were subjected to UPGMA cluster analysis. The generated dendrogram revealed two major groups. The Tc group included the accessions collected from the center of the Zagros Mountains, and the Te group was collected from the extremes of the Zagros range. A principal coordinate analysis confirmed the results of clustering. The results showed that the divergence of accessions based on the Zagros Mountains is more logical in comparison with classification on the basis of provincial borders. Gene diversity and expected heterozygosity were greater in the Tc group than in the Te group, suggesting that the germplasm collected from the center of the Zagros Mountains is more variable.
A method is presented for the rapid isolation of high molecular weight plant DNA (50,000 base pairs or more in length) which
is free of contaminants which interfere with complete digestion by restriction endonucleases. The procedure yields total cellular
DNA (i.e. nuclear, chloroplast, and mitochondrial DNA). The technique is ideal for the rapid isolation of small amounts of
DNA from many different species and is also useful for large scale isolations.
Simple sequence repeats (SSR), or microsatellites, are ubiquitous in eukaryotic genomes. Here we demonstrate the utility of microsatellite-directed DNA fingerprinting by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) amplification of the interrepeat region. No sequencing is required to design the oligonucleotide primers. We tested primers anchored at 3' or 5' termini of the (CA)n repeats, extended into the flanking sequence by 2 to 4 nucleotide residues [3'-anchored primers: (CA)8RG, (CA)8RY, and (CA)7RTCY; and 5'-anchored primers: BDB(CA)7C, DBDA(CA)7, VHVG(TG)7 and HVH(TG)7T]. Radioactively labeled amplification products were analyzed by electrophoresis, revealing information on multiple genomic loci in a single gel lane. Complex, species-specific patterns were obtained from a variety of eukaryotic taxa. Intraspecies polymorphisms were also observed and shown to segregate as Mendelian markers. Inter-SSR PCR provides a novel fingerprinting approach applicable for taxonomic and phylogenetic comparisons and as a mapping tool in a wide range of organisms. This application of (CA)n repeats may be extended to different microsatellites and other common dispersed elements.
Genetic linkage maps based on restriction fragment length polymorphisms are useful for many purposes; however, different populations are required to fulfill different objectives. Clones from the linkage map(s) are subsequently probed onto populations developed for special purposes such as gene tagging. Therefore, clones contained on the initial map(s) must be polymorphic on a wide range of genotypes to have maximum utility. The objectives of this research were to (i) calculate polymorphism information content values of 51 low-copy DNA clones and (ii) use the resulting values to choose potential mapping parents. Polymorphism information content was calculated using gene diversity by classifying restriction fragment patterns on a diverse set of 18 wheat genotypes. Combinations of potential parents were then compared by examining both the proportion of polymorphic clones and the likelihood that those mapped clones would give a polymorphism when used on other populations. Genotype pairs were identified that would map more highly informative DNA clones compared with a population derived from the most polymorphic potential parents. The methodologies used to characterize clones and rank potential parents should be applicable to other species and types of markers as well.
In this study I investigate how isolation affects fecundity in a self-incompatible plant species, Achillea millefolium (L.), on islands in the Stockholm archipelago. According to preliminary results, the distribution pattern of A. millefolium in this region is affected by both patch size and isolation; this was more thoroughly investigated. Individuals were transplanted to non-isolated and isolated islands, keeping resource availability, population size, and inter-individual spacing constant. I examined whether reproductive success in isolated island populations is reduced compared to non-isolated populations, and if so, whether this is due to pollen limitation. The germinability of the seeds was also investigated, along with seed predation and survival. I found no significant difference in pollen deposition and fecundity between individuals on non-isolated and isolated islands. Furthermore, there were no differences in seed germinability, seed predation, and survival associated with isolation. The fecundity of A. millefolium in this region is unaffected by pollinator availability as isolation increases. A generalist pollinator fauna may ensure persistence in isolated habitats where more specialised pollinator services are unreliable during the flowering season.
The compositions of essential oils of 19 accessions belonging to six different Achillea species, transferred from the natural habitats in 10 provinces of Iran to the field conditions, were assessed. The relationship between the leaf areas of selected accessions with their essential oil content was also investigated. Essential oil yield of dried plants obtained by hydro-distillation ranged from 0.1 to 2.7% in leaves. Results indicated a significant variation in oil composition among and within species. Total of 94 compounds were identified in 19 accessions belonging to the six species of A. millefolium, A. filipendulina, A. tenuifolia, A. santolina, A. biebersteinii and A. eriophora. The major constituents of the leaves in the tested genotypes were determined as germacrene-D, bicyclogermacrene, camphor, borneol, 1,8-cineole, spathulenol and bornyl acetate. According to the major compounds, four chemotypes were defined as: (I) spathulenol (1.64–34.31%)+camphor (0.2–15.61%) (7 accessions); (II1) germacrene-D (18.78–23.93%)+borneol (7.93–8.26%)+bornyl acetate (11.56–14.66%) (5 accessions); (II2) germacrene-D (13.28–36.28%)+bicyclogermacrene (5.93–8.4%)+1,8-cineole (15.26–19.41%)+camphor (14.95–23.32%) (2 accessions); (III) borneol+camphor (52.04–63.27) (2 accessions); (IV) germacrene-D (45.86–69.64%) (3 accessions). The relationships of chemotypes with soil type and climatic conditions of collected regions were assessed, as probable reasons of high variations in essential oil components, and discussed.
To estimate genetic diversity and to authenticate the three endangered and official genuine species, Rheum officinale, Rheum palmatum and Rheum tanguticum, of herbal medicine of rhubarb, the optimization of DNA isolation methods including modified CTAB and isolation kit, PCR system of inter-simple sequence repeats (ISSRs) and primers screening were investigated in the present work. Modified CTAB was a preferable choice compared to isolation kit, ISSR protocol was optimized based on the use of the concentration of MgCl 2 (1.5 mM), lower concentrations of primer (0.4 µM), dNTPs (0.25 mM), Taq DNA polymerase (1.0 U) and 50 ng of template DNA, resulted optimal amplification. Reproducible amplifiable products were observed in all PCR reactions. According to this PCR system, sixteen out of one hundred primers were chosen for their high clarity and repetition. Thus, the results indicated that the optimized protocol for DNA isolation and PCR system was amenable to three genuine species of rhubarb which is suitable for further work on genetic diversity analysis. Furthermore, here the suitable DNA isolation protocol for ISSR-PCR analysis can be used to study the genetic variation in the future in Rheum grown in China.
1 We studied reproduction and offspring performance in relation to population size in the declining self-incompatible perennials Primula veris and Gentiana lutea. In both species, reproduction was strongly reduced in small populations, where plants produced fewer seeds per fruit and per plant. Total seed mass per plant was higher in large populations, but individual seeds were smaller, indicating a trade-off between seed number and size. Reproduction was depressed most strongly in populations consisting of less than c. 200 (P. veris) and c. 500 plants (G. lutea), respectively.
2 The inclusion of plant size (an integrated measure of habitat quality) in the statistical models did not change the relationships between fecundity and population size. Pollen limitation or inbreeding depression in small populations are therefore more likely explanations for these patterns than is habitat quality.
3 Germination rate and survival of seedlings in a common environment was not related to population size in either species, although P. veris developed into larger rosettes when seeds were derived from large populations. This suggests that inbreeding depression occurs in small populations of P. veris.
4 In a factorial fertilizer-by-competition experiment with P. veris, offspring from larger populations grew significantly larger and responded more strongly to fertilizer. For this declining species genetic deterioration as a result of habitat fragmentation may therefore aggravate the effects of environmental changes such as habitat eutrophication.
5 Our results suggest that small populations may face an increased short-term risk of extinction because of reduced reproduction, and an increased long-term risk because they are less able to respond to environmental changes.
Several DNA marker systems and associated techniques are available today for fingerprinting plant germplasm but information
on their relative usefulness in particular crops is limited. The study investigated PCR based DNA fingerprinting in a set
of 39 potato cultivars using RAPDs (20 primers), ISSRs (6 primers), AFLPs (2 primers) and SSRs (5 primer pairs). Results show
that each of the four techniques can on their own, individually identify each cultivar, but that techniques differ in the
mean number of profiles generated per primer (or primer pair) per cultivar, referred to as Genotype Index (GI). The order
of merit based on this criterium and in this material was AFLPs (GI = 1.0), a multi-locus SSR (GI = 0.77),RAPDs (GI = 0.53),
ISSRs (GI = 0.47) and single locus SSRs (GI = 0.36). Problems in relating banding patterns to individual loci and alleles
for polyploid genomes, using these techniques as they are currently employed, are also discussed.
Genetic relationships and diversity of 45 Guizotia populations each consisting of ten individuals and belonging to five taxa of the genus Guizotia were analyzed using Inter Simple Sequence Repeat (ISSR) markers. Five ISSR primers generated a total of 145 scorable bands
across the 450 individuals used for the study. The percent polymorphic loci for the taxa ranged from 68.2 (G. arborescens) to 88% (G. scabra ssp. schimperi), with G. scabra ssp. scabra, G. zavattarii and G. villosa following G. scabra ssp. schimperi in this order with respect to the abundance of percent polymorphic loci. The Shannon-Weaver diversity indices (H′), for the
five taxa also followed a similar pattern, with G. scabra ssp. schimperi exhibiting the highest H′ (0.7373) and G. arborescens the least (0.5791), while H′ for G. scabra ssp. scabra, G. villosa and G. zavattarii were 0.7313, 0.6620 and 0.6564, respectively. The least genetic distance (0.1188) was observed between G. scabra ssp. schimperi and G.villosa, revealing closer genetic relationships of the two species with each other than with the others, and the highest genetic
distance (0.2740) was observed between G. scabra ssp. schimperi and G. zavattarii. The unweighted pair group method using the arithmetic average clustering of the five taxa using the standard genetic distances
produced two clusters, with G. scabra ssp. schimperi and G. villosa occurring in one cluster and G. scabra ssp. scabra, G. arborescens and G. zavattarii together in the other cluster. The study reveals that G. scabra ssp. schimperi is more closely related to G. villosa than to G. scabra ssp. scabra.
Amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP) markers were used to assess the genetic diversity of 57 Achillea accessions belonging to five species, A. millefolium, A. filipendulina, A. tenuifolia, A. santolina and A. biebersteinii. Nine AFLP primer combinations were used, which produced 301 polymorphic bands. In most species, a high level of genetic variation was detected among the genotypes. The Jaccard's similarity indices (J), based on AFLP profiles, were subjected to UPGMA cluster analysis. Application of Mantel's test for cophenetic correlation to the cluster analysis indicated the high fitness of the accessions to a group (r = 0.918). The dendrogram generated revealed five major groups corresponding to five species. The principle coordinate analysis (PCoA) data confirmed the results of the clustering. Among the species, A. teunifolia and A. santolina showed the greatest and the least genetic diversity, respectively. A. filipendulina accessions were acquired primarily from the same ecological regions of western Iran. Accessions belonging to A. biebersteinii originated from the Isfahan province and were separated from other species at the root of the dendrogram. The results of the clustering method, based on AFLP markers, corresponded closely with the geographical origins of the genotypes. The results of the present study could contribute to a better understanding and management of conservation and exploitation of the Achillea germplasm.
Achillea lanulosa has complex, highly dissected leaves that vary in shape and size along an altitudinal gradient. Plants from a high and an intermediate altitude population were clonally replicated and grown in a controlled environment at warm and cool conditions under bright light. There were genetic differences among populations and among individuals within populations in leaf size and shape. Heritabilities for leaf size and shape characters were moderate. Leaves of the lower altitude population were larger and differed from the higher altitude plants in both coarse and fine shape. Plastic response to temperature of the growth environment paralleled the genetic differentiation between low and high altitude populations. There was no apparent trade-off between genetic control over morphology and the capacity for directional plastic response to the environment. Differences in leaf dissection and size at contrasting altitudes in this species are the result of both genetic divergence among populations and of acclimative responses to local environments.
Air-dried flower heads of 20 Finnish tansy genotypes were extracted with petroleum ether and analyzed using GC-MS. A total of 55 volatile compounds were detected, and 53 were identified. Of the tansy genotypes studied, 15 were well defined and five were mixed chemotypes. Complete linkage analysis differentiated the populations into six clusters. The most frequently found monoterpene was camphor with or without several satellite compounds such as camphene, 1,8-cineole, pinocamphone, chrysanthenyl acetate, bornyl acetate and isobornyl acetate. In 13 genotypes, camphor concentration exceeded 18.5% and in seven genotypes, camphor was less than 7.2%. Other chemotypes rich in trans thujone, artemisia ketone, 1,8-cineole, or davadone-D were also identified. Davadone-D and a mixed chemotype, containing tricyclene and myrcene, were identified from a Finnish tansy for the first time. Geographically, most chemotypes containing camphor originated from Central Finland, whereas chemotypes without camphor such as artemisia ketone, davadone D and myrcene-tricyclene originated from South or Southwest Finland. Morphologically, the 20 tansy chemotypes based on the groups formed from complete linkage cluster analysis, were compared. The group containing the highest concentration of camphor chemotypes had the tallest shoots. The groups consisting from chemotypes containing davadone-D or artemisia ketone, which originated from Southwest Finland, produced the highest number of flower heads, had the tallest corymb, and were last to flower. Also, the group consisting from chemotypes with a high concentration of camphor and originated from South Finland started to flower late. The correlation between the genetic distance matrices based on RAPD patterns reported previously (Keskitalo et al., 1998. Theo. Appl. Genet. 96, 1141-1150.) and the chemical distance matrices of the present study of the same tansy genotypes was highly significant (0.41, P<0.0001).
Sonchus gandogeri, a woody sow-thistle, is an endangered Canary Island endemic with only two known populations, one in the El Golfo and another in the Las Esperillas of El Hierro. Amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP) markers were used to assess the genetic variation within and among populations. The mean genetic diversity of two populations was estimated to be 0.380, and the El Golfo population (0.380) had higher genetic diversity than the southeastern one (0.268). The unbiased Nei’s genetic identity between the two populations was 0.846. The mean genetic diversity of S. gandogeri was much higher than that of the other endangered plant species. This is perhaps due to breeding system, life form, extinction, and/or introgressive hybridization and hybrid origin of the taxon. This study also indicates that the two populations are not strongly differentiated (G
ST=0.149). This study suggests that S. gandogeri is more likely to become extinct due to environmental or demographic forces than genetic factors, such as inbreeding depression. More strict control of introduced herbivores is necessary to protect these populations, and germplasm collection for ex situ conservation is needed.
Achillea millefolium L. s.l. is traditionally used not only in the treatment of gastro-intestinal and hepato-biliary disorders, but also as an antiphlogistic drug. As various proteases, for instance human neutrophil elastase (HNE) and matrix metalloproteinases (MMP-2 and -9), are associated with the inflammatory process, the aim of this study was to test a crude plant extract in in vitro-protease inhibition assays for understanding the mechanisms of anti-inflammatory action. Furthermore, two fractions enriched in flavonoids and dicaffeoylquinic acids (DCQAs), respectively, were also tested in order to evaluate their contribution to the antiphlogistic activity of the plant. The extract and the flavonoid fraction inhibited HNE showing IC(50) values of approximately 20 microg/ml, whereas the DCQA fraction was less active (IC(50)=72 microg/ml). The inhibitory activity on MMP-2 and -9 was observed at IC(50) values from 600 to 800 microg/ml, whereas the DCQA fraction showed stronger effects than the flavonoid fraction and the extract. In conclusion, the in vitro-antiphlogistic activity of Achillea is at least partly mediated by inhibition of HNE and MMP-2 and -9. After the recently described spasmolytic and choleretic effects the obtained results give further insights into the pharmacological activity of Achillea and confirm the traditional application as antiphlogistic drug.
Dysosma pleiantha, an important threatened medicinal plant species, is restricted in distribution to southeastern China. The species is capable of reproducing both sexually and asexually. In this study, inter-simple sequence repeat marker data were obtained and analyzed with respect to genetic variation and genetic structure. The extent of clonality, together with the clonal and sexual reproductive strategies, varied among sites, and the populations under harsh ecological conditions tended to have large clones with relatively low clonal diversity caused by vegetative reproduction. The ramets sharing the same genotype show a clumped distribution. Across all populations surveyed, average within-population diversity was remarkably low (e.g., 0.111 for Nei’s gene diversity), with populations from the nature reserves maintaining relatively high amounts of genetic diversity. Among all populations, high genetic differentiation (AMOVA: ΦST = 0.500; Nei’s genetic diversity: G
ST = 0.465, Bayesian analysis: ΦB = 0.436) was detected, together with an isolation-by-distance pattern. Low seedling recruitment due to inbreeding, restricted gene flow, and genetic drift are proposed as determinant factors responsible for the low genetic diversity and high genetic differentiation observed.