تنوع زیستی و ذخایر ژنتیکی زر آوند گونه Aristolochia olivieri در ایران

The genus Aristolochia (Aristolochiaceae) is a large genus with over 540 species worldwide. In Iran, there are three species of this genus. Aristolochia olivieri is an endemic taxon, exclusively distributed in the habitats of western parts of Iran. It is a tuberous geophyte and grows primarily in the subtropical biome. This species is a member of A. bottae complex (A. bottae, A. olivieri, A. hyrcana). The taxon is an important medicinal plant with different uses. The chemical composition and the in vitro antibacterial and antitumor activities of an A. olivieri leaves methanolic extract have been documented. In this study, we have examined genetic variability and genetic structure of natural populations of A. olivieri by ISSR markers for the first time. Three Inter Simple Sequence Repeats (ISSR) markers were used to study the genetic variability of eight populations of this species. Genetic diversity parameters, genetic distance and gene flow were determined. Different methods evaluated genetic variation at inter- and intra-population levels. AMOVA and structure analyses revealed high genetic diversity within populations. Mantel test showed a significant correlation between genetic and geographic distances. The population of A. olivieri possess a relatively high genetic diversity (He = 0.207, I = 0.302). AMOVA analysis showed that 81% of the total genetic diversity was within populations and 19% of the variation occurred among populations. There was a high proportion of genetic variation within natural populations of A. olivieri detectable, with high gene flow (Nm=1.6835). This might be attributed to geographical barriers and limited seed dispersal. The boundaries of population 8 (Rudbar) are well separated and there is also a high genetic diversity and gene flow within other populations.