Genetic Diversity Analyses of Scrophularia erzincanica and Scrophularia fatmae (Scrophulariaceae) Populations Distributed in Eastern Anatolia of Türkiye

Abstract

Scrophularia fatmae Kandemir & İlhan and Scrophularia erzincanica R.R. Mill (Scrophulariaceae) are endemic species to Erzincan/ Turkiye. IUCN categories in S. erzincanica and S. fatmae are EN and CR. In the present study, we investigated levels of genetic variation and genetic structure of three populations of S. erzincanica, and two populations of S. fatmae in Erzincan using ISSR markers. For this aim, 10 primers amplified 116 total bands, with 104 (89.6 %) being polymorphic, from five populations composed of 75 individuals. The UPGMA cluster analysis demonstrated a significant correlation between genetic variations and geographic distances. The distribution area and population size of S. fatmae, which has adapted to the alpine region, is smaller. In addition, S. fatmae has a higher tendency to self-pollination. S. erzincanica has a larger population. The number of effective pollinators in S. erzincanica and S. fatmae are three and one, respectively. With the contribution of these reasons, when we compare S. fatmae and S. erzincanica species according to the results of the research, it is seen that genetic diversity is higher in S. erzincanica. The genetic data obtained as a result of present study may be used in the development of conservation strategies for other rare and endangered plant species, in addition to S. erzincanica and S. fatmae species.