Genetic Diversity of Salvia Species Assessed by ISSR and RAPD Markers

The genus Salvia includes an enormous assemblage of nearly 1,000 species dispersed around the world. Due to possible threats to this genus, there is an immediate requirement to evaluate the diversity of its wild populations. ISSR and RAPD molecular techniques were used to evaluate the genetic relationships among twenty-one ecotypes of eight Salvia species. Amplification of genomic DNA using 23 primers (15 RAPD and eight ISSR) produced 280 bands, of which 91% were polymorphic. The results of marker parameters showed no clear difference between two marker systems. It was generally observed that both ISSR and RAPD markers had similar efficiency in detecting genetic polymorphisms with remarkable ability to differentiate the closely related ecotypes of Salvia. Nei’s similarity coefficients for these techniques ranged from 0.48 to 0.98. Based on the results of clustering, PCoA and AMOVA, the genetic diversity between and within species was confirmed. So, conservation and domestication of the genus Salvia must be due to levels of genetic variations.