Genetic Variability and Population Structure of Salvia lachnostachys: Implications for Breeding and Conservation Programs

Abstract

The genetic diversity and population structure of Salvia lachnostachys Benth were assessed. Inter Simple Sequence Repeat (ISSR) molecular markers were used to investigate the restricted distribution of S. lachnostachys in Parana State, Brazil. Leaves of 73 individuals representing three populations were collected. DNA was extracted and submitted to PCR-ISSR amplification with nine tested primers. Genetic diversity parameters were evaluated. Our analysis indicated 95.6% polymorphic loci (stress value 0.02) with a 0.79 average Simpson’s index. The Nei-Li distance dendrogram and principal component analysis largely recovered the geographical origin of each sample. Four major clusters were recognized representing each collected population. Nei’s gene diversity and Shannon’s information index were 0.25 and 0.40 respectively. As is typical for outcrossing herbs, the majority of genetic variation occurred at the population level (81.76%). A high gene flow (Nm = 2.48) was observed with a correspondingly low fixation index. These values were generally similar to previous studies on congeneric species. The results of principal coordinate analysis (PCA) and of arithmetic average (UPGMA) were consistent and all three populations appear distinct as in STRUCTURE analysis. In addition, this analysis indicated a majority intrapopulation genetic variation. Despite the human pressure on natural populations our study found high levels of genetic diversity for S. lachnostachys. This was the first molecular assessment for this endemic species with medicinal proprieties and the results can guide for subsequent bioprospection, breeding programs or conservation actions.

Genetic relationships and diversity among wild Salvia accessions revealed by ISSR and SCoT markers

“…Hence, identification, collection, as well as conservation of Salvia species from different geographical regions of Iran, would be of great importance in the formulation of maintenance strategies for the species belonging to this genus. In line with these results, some researchers showed high levels of genetic diversity in several species of genus Salvia [19][20][21]. The potential of SCoT markers for analyzing the genetic diversity and genetic relationships among Salvia species is another key result with practical implications.…”

“…So far, there have been few attempts to study the genetic variation in Salvia species using different molecular markers [19][20][21]. However, no studies have been conducted to assess the genotypic differences and relationships in Salvia species using gene-targeted markers, and this is the novelty of the current work.…”

An integrating study of genetic diversity and ecological niche modelling in Salvia aristata (Lamiaceae)

“…Compared with the other dominant markers, simplicity, reproducibility, cost effectiveness and high throughput of SRAP make it more applicable in the genomic studies (Chang et al 2012, Li and Quiros 2001, Li et al 2015, Robarts and Wolfe 2014. According to the previous studies, SRAP marker is very successful for detecting inter-and intra-population genetic variations (Erbano et al 2015, Robarts and Wolfe 2014, Talebi et al 2015. Not only integrating morphological information with genetic data is a powerful tool in interpretation of speciation trends, adaptive radiation and many other evolutionary aspects is helpful for evaluation of lower levels of systematic classification among organisms displaying non-powerful diagnostic morphological characters and endemism patterns.…”

Research Article Assessment of genetic diversity of a native population of Eplingiella fruticosa: a plant with therapeutic potential.

“…Among the main molecular markers, ISSR (inter-simple sequence repeat) have arbitrary character, high reproducibility, and can characterize the genetic diversity of the species without prior knowledge of genome (Erbano et al, 2015;El-Amin and Hamza, 2016). ISSR markers have been used to identify the genetic variability among wild individuals of Satureja rechingeri (Hadian et al, 2015), to molecularly characterize and to detect genetic variations between accessions of Thymus sp (Yousefi et al, 2015), and to discriminate species of the genus Ocimum (Kumar et al, 2016), all of them belonging to the family Lamiaceae, assisting in the characterization of the existing genetic variability and conservation of the species studied.…”