Genetic diversity analysis in natural populations of Roscoea procera Wall. from West Himalaya, India

Abstract

The present study is undertaken to analyse the genetic diversity of Roscoea procera Wall. (an endemic Himalayan medicinal herb) collected from 11 different populations of West Himalaya using ISSR markers. Of the total 130 ISSR primers screened, only ten ISSR primers generated 94 clear and reproducible banding patterns, of which 89 bands (94.68 %) were polymorphic. Based on the percentage of polymorphic loci (94.68 %), Nei’s gene diversity (0.198) and Shannon’s information index (0.329), high genetic diversity was detected at the species level. Genetic differentiation (GST = 0.202) was also recorded as moderate level due to high gene flow (Nm = 1.976) among populations. Analysis of molecular variance (AMOVA) indicated that most of the genetic variation (90 %) resided within the populations (ΦST = 0.10). STRUCTURE analysis revealed two ancestral groups of the species, which were further supported by neighbour-joining cluster analysis. Among the different ecological habitats, high genetic diversity in populations under open grassy land showed suitability and preferred habitat conditions. High genetic diversity within population suggests in situ and ex situ conservation of selected populations for conserving and maintaining wide genetic pool of the species.