Assessment of variability among molecular and morphological characters of several wild Rutaceae species

Abstract

Morphological and molecular assessments were carried out to confirm the genetic variability and relationship among wild Rutaceae species. Thirteen stem and leaves morphological characters and 12 ISSR primers were used to evaluate 17 Rutaceae accessions. The results shows that morphological and molecular assessments confirmed different accessions grouping. Biplot analysis based on morphological characters revealed 3 groups based on the character similarity and 1 distinct group consisting Lunasia sp., M. latifolia, L. amara, E. suaveolens, Clausena sp., and M. minutum with a weak relationship of the observed characters. While the ISSR study divided the accessions into 3 clusters, which include L. acidissima in a distinct cluster. The second cluster composed of Clausena sp, Melicope sp. and Fragara sp. The third cluster was divided into two sub-clusters. The first sub-cluster included M. trichopetala, M. minutum, M. latifolia, L. amara, A. marmelos, Z. ovalifolium, G. pentaphyla, Lunasia sp, Z. rhetsa and M. exotica. While, F. lucida, P. littorale and E. suaveolens are the member of the second sub-cluster. The study has demonstrated the effectiveness of ISSR primers in differentiating species up to the subfamily level and it is crucial to prioritize further research to enhance the specificity of morphological characters.