Comparative study of genetic diversity using RAPD markers in Salvia (Lamiaceae)

Salvia has a high degree of environmental compatibility and is widespread around the world, especially in tropical and temperate regions. It is represented by 61 species in Iran including 19 endemic species. Salvia species are mostly shrubs or subshrubs, occasionally herbs, typically perennial, sometimes biennial or annual, and often aromatic. The genus has high medicinal, commercial and horticultural value. It is the largest and one of the taxonomically complicated genus of Lamiaceae. To determine the genetic diversity and understand the species’ limits within the Iranian Salvia, we produced both morphological and molecular data using 145 randomly collected plants representing 30 species from 18 provinces of Iran. A total of 107 reproducible bands were generated by 10 of 25 random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) primers, with an average of 10.7 bands/primer and 44% polymorphism. Largest number of effective alleles (Ne), genetic diversity (H), and Shannon Index (I) were shown by S. reuterana. Our data depicted highest similarity between S. suffruticosa and S. hydrangea and lowest between S. aristata and S. oligphylla. Salvia limbata showed relatively low level of genetic variation. Finally, the Neighbor Joining (NJ) trees based on RAPD markers data divided the populations into two different clusters, indicating their genetic difference which is discussed in details.