Characterizing trait-specific populations and genetic diversity patterns in clary sage (Salvia sclarea L.) using SSR markers

Abstract

Clary sage (Salvia sclarea L.) is an aromatic and medicinal herb grown widely across Europe, Western Asia, Maghreb, the Mideast, and countries like India. The purpose of this study was to assess genetic diversity of clary sage genotypes from the Western Himalayas, aiming to support future breeding efforts. A total of 72 genotypes of clary sage from six distinct populations were examined using 49 simple sequence repeat markers. In total, 323 alleles were detected ranging from 1 to 16 with an average of 6.54 alleles per locus. Among these, 78.33 % were common alleles, 1.86 % were rare, and 19.81 % were frequent alleles. The results revealed an overall polymorphic information content of 93.88 %, with an average of 0.71 ranging from 0.00 to 0.93 at each marker locus, indicating high genetic variability among the studied material. The detected heterozygosity (0.52) was lower than expected heterozygosity (0.71), pointing a heterozygotes deficit populations. Analysis of variance showed considerable variability for biomass yield. Molecular analysis of variance (AMOVA) showed that genetic diversity was greater within individuals than among populations. Unweighted neighbour-joining, principal coordinate analysis, and population structure showed that the genotypes from different geographic regions and various biomass yield groups were predominantly admixed across clusters. The cluster-III represented the Bharmour population was the highest biomass performer group. The observed diversity patterns will facilitate plant breeders to make choices for breeding programs aiming for higher biomass yield in this plant.