Identification and Genetic Diversity Analysis of Edible and Medicinal Malva Species Using Flow Cytometry and ISSR Molecular Markers

Iwona Jedrzejczyk,Monika Rewers

doi:10.3390/agronomy10050650

Iwona Jedrzejczyk, Monika Rewers

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy10050650

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Abstract

The Malva genus contains species that reveal therapeutic properties and are mostly important in medicine and the functional food industry. Its breeding, cultivation, and utilization are based on proper germplasm/plant identification, which is difficult using morphological features. For this reason, we applied flow cytometry and inter simple sequence repeat polymerase chain reaction (ISSR-PCR) for fast and accurate species identification. Genome size estimation by flow cytometry was proposed as the first-choice method for quick accession screening. Out of the 12 tested accessions, it was possible to identify six genotypes based on genome size estimation, whereas all species and varieties were identified using ISSR markers. Flow cytometric analyses revealed that Malva species possessed very small (1.45–2.77 pg/2C), small (2.81–3.80 pg/2C), and intermediate (11.06 pg/2C) genomes, but the majority of accessions possessed very small genomes. Additionally, this is the first report on genome size assessment for eight of the accessions. The relationships between the investigated accessions showed the presence of two clusters representing malvoid and lavateroid group of species. Flow cytometry and ISSR molecular markers can be effectively used in the identification and genetic characterization of Malva species.

Highlights

Malva L. is the genus within the Malvaceae Juss. family, which includes 25–40 species and several hybrids [1,2,3]
This study aimed to evaluate genetic diversity and relationships between selected Malva accessions through the use of genome size estimation and ISSR molecular markers
This study proved the potential of flow cytometric genome size determination and ISSR marker analyses in the identification and evaluation of genetic relationships between Malva species/varieties

Summary

Introduction

Malva L. (mallow) is the genus within the Malvaceae Juss. family, which includes 25–40 species and several hybrids [1,2,3]. Family, which includes 25–40 species and several hybrids [1,2,3]. (mallow) is the genus within the Malvaceae Juss. This genus contains herbaceous annual, biennial, and perennial species that are native to regions of Africa, Asia, and Europe [4,5]. Malva species contain a lot of mucilage, malvin, flavonoids, terpenoids, polysaccharides, and vitamin A. Mallow species are used in the treatment of respiratory, urinary, and digestive problems as they have high bactericidal, antiulcerogenic, anti-inflammatory, hepatoprotective, and antidiabetic activities [16,17,18,19,20,21,22]

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