Transposon studies on Colchium chalcedonicum

Abstract

Colchicum chalcedonicum is one of the endemic plants in Turkey. The aim of this study was the investigation of the retrotransposon SIRE1, Sukkula and Nikita presence and insertion patterns in C. chalcedonicum. The plant samples were collected from the botanic garden of the Istanbul University. DNA isolation was performed from leaves by using modified CTAB/SEVAG protocol. Retrotransposon movements were investigated using SIRE1, Sukkula and Nikita primers by Inter Retrotranposon Amplified Polymorphism PCR technique (IRAP-PCR). Polymorphism percentages (%) were calculated based on Jaccard Similarity Index. We observed that polymorphism ratios of SIRE1, Sukkula and Nikita retrotransposons among all samples were 0-40%, 0-100% and 0-60%, respectively. This is the first report to demonstrate three barley ─ SIRE1, Sukkula and Nikita─ retrotransposons presence and movements in C. chalcedonicum which is belonged to Colchium family, thus these IRAP primers may be used in further characterization and diversity studies of Colchicum family.