Preliminary assessment of genetic diversity between Glebionis coronaria and G. discolor (Asteraceae) by AFLP markers

Vrsta Glebionis coronaria je cenjeno zdravilno zelišče, samoniklo na območju Mediterana. V zadjem času je bila različica G. coronaria var. discolor dvignjena na rang vrste kot vrsta G. discolor (d’Urv.) Cano na osnovi morfoloških lastnosti, po katerih se razlikuje od vrste G. coronaria var. coronaria (=G. coronaria). Za preučitev genetske osnove te raznolikosti so bili uporabljeni AFLP markerji za analizo genotipov vrst G. discolor in G. coronaria vzorčenih na različnih območjih Mediterana (Italija, Španija in Portugalska). Rezultati so pokazali, da je bilo med 1347 fragmenti, identificiranih s kombinacijami petih primerjev 99,55 % polimorfnih. Genetska razdalja in vrednosti Shannonovega indeksa nakazujejo, da sta vrsti genetsko ločeni, a so potrebne nadaljne raziskave za potrditev te hipoteze.

Glebionis coronaria is a valuable and medicinal herb native of Mediterranean region. Recently, G. coronaria var. discolor has been elevated to the rank of species as G. discolor (d’Urv.) Cano based on morphological characteristics, distinguishing it from G. coronaria var. coronaria (=G. coronaria). To investigate the genetic basis of this diversity, AFLP markers were applied to genotypes of G. discolor and G. coronaria sampled in three different Mediterranean regions (Italy, Spain, and Portugal). Our results showed that among 1347 fragments identified with five primer combinations 99.55 % were polymorphic. The genetic distance and the Shannon Index values suggested that the two species can be genetically distinguished, but further studies are needed to confirm this hypothesis.