Maryam Behroozian - Departemt of Biology, Mashhad Branch, Islamic Azad University, Mashhad, Iran
Azarnoosh Jafari - Departemt of Biology, Mashhad Branch, Islamic Azad University, Mashhad, Iran
Mohammad Farsi - Research Center for Plant Sciences, Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, Mashhad, Iran.

In this study we investigated the genetic variation, using RAPD data in ۶۹ individuals of nine natural populations representing two species of Dianthus L. growing in Northeast of Iran. Eleven RAPD primers generated ۱۱۱ polymorphic DNA bands. The percentage of polymorphic bands, Nails genetic diversity (h), as well as Shannon index (I), were assessed. A dendrogram based on UPGMA segregated examined populations into two main clusters matching the two species and the two subspecies of Dianthus polylepis subsp. polylepis and D. polylepis subsp. D. binaludensis were to each other. AMOVA showed ۸۲% and ۱۸% of the variation within and among populations respectively. Furthermore, principal coordinate analysis (PCA) based on a Euclidean metric revealed that three populations of D. crinitus subsp. turcomanicus were genetically different from six populations of D. polylepis. According to our results, geographical distances, mating system and gene flow have important effects on genetic polymorphism of populations.

Dianthus, Caryophyllaceae, Iran, RAPD markers, Genetic variation