Molecular characterization of genetic diversity induced in Ceratophyllum Demersum L. grown in Wastewater

The adaptability of aquatic plants to changing environments depends on their genetic diversity. These were influenced by the rate of sexual reproduction, mutation, as well as, gene flow from distant areas. So, the aim of this study was to investigate the genotoxicity of wastewater on the molecular level of Ceratophyllum demersum L., in addition to improving the quality of these effluents resulting from the chemical fertilizer industry. Six doses of ultraviolet (UV-B) irradiation were used to induce genetic diversity in C. demersum L, in addition to unirradiated plants served as control. For this purpose, ten SCoT primers were used against 14 samples of DNA isolated from irradiated C. demersum L. grown in Nile water and wastewater. Irradiated plants from the same dose of UV irradiation consumed higher quantities of wastewater than those from Nile water. The greatest value of wastewater consumed was achieved by the plants irradiated for 40 minutes. This allows irradiated plants to greatly bioaccumulate heavy metals. A high level of genetic diversity was explored by SCoT-6 and SCoT-2 primer sets. The SCoT-2 primer appeared 85% of the loci were found to be polymorphic. This primer appeared the highest number of amplified fragments reached 20 and unique bands reached five. The greatest genetic variability was detected by SCoT-6, which found that 85.71% of the loci were polymorphic without unique bands. Two main clusters were obtained one for each kind of water. The results reflected that the greatest genetic variability was revealed in the populations treated with wastewater due to their genotoxicity.