A combined approach using ISSR and ITS analysis for the characterization of Artemisia halodendron from Horqin sandy land, northern China

Abstract

Abstract Artemisia halodendron is the most dominant and constructive species among the Horqin sandy land. We evaluated its genetic variation and phylogenetic analysis within and among its populations sampled from six different habitats gradient from the Horqin sandy land in the northeast of China by using inter-simple sequence repeat polymorphism (ISSR) and the nuclear ribosomal internal transcribed spacer (ITS) molecular markers. The results showed that eight ISSR primers generated 84 bands, of which 48 (57.14%) were polymorphic. The highest genetic diversity was observed in the inter-dune lowland population, whereas the lowest diversity was found in the mobile dune population. The AMOVA analysis revealed a relatively high level of genetic variation within its populations. The alignment of 124 ITS sequences showed 401 variable sites and the GC content ranged from 54.02% to 57.32%. The ITS tree revealed the existence of three major clades, and that the semi-mobile dune population was more closely related to the inter-dune lowland population.