Genetic diversity of Potamogeton nodosus Poir. in Iran

Potamogeton nodosus Poir. is one of the most important species of the genus Potamogeton belongs to the Potamogetonaceae. This submerged plant with permanent floating leaves is widely distributed in the freshwater to the brinewaters of Iran that shows high morphological diversity. So far, there has not been any study on the genetic diversity of Potamogeron nodosus using molecular markers, so the purpose of this study is to investigate the genetic diversity of different populations of this species in Iran. Understanding the genetic diversity of this species can be mentioned as a useful resource for management programs to protect the country's environment. For this purpose, ۱۲ different populations of this species in aquatic habitats of Iran were collected, their morphological features were studied, and then genetic diversity of them was examined using SRAP molecular markers. Based on the analysis of PCoA, the populations were divided into four groups corresponding to their geographical distributions including north, center, southwest and southeast. But in cluster analysis, only the northern populations were well separated from the other populations. The results of STRUCTURE analysis also revealed two separate groups of populations based on their geographical distributions. According to observed differences in the different analyses, it is suggested that in future more molecular markers such as ISSR be used to identify the relationships between the results of the morphological and genetic studies and evaluate the correlation between them.

کلیدواژه ها:

Aquatic plant ، molecular marker ، Potamogetonaceae ، ISSR ، SRAP