Population Structure in Geranium Subg. Geranium (Geraniaceae) Using Scot Molecular Markers

Abstract

The genus Geranium L. (Geraniaceae) comprises about 430 species distributed throughout most parts of the world. According to the most recent treatments, subg. Geranium is the largest subgenus with over 370 species classified in ten sections. The subg. Geranium is represented in Iran by 13 species. These species are grouped 3 sections. These species are of medicinal, commercial and horticultural value. Therefore, due to the importance of these plant species, we performed a combination of morphological and molecular data for this species. For this study, we used 115 randomly collected plants from 13 species in 9 provinces. According to the SCoT markers analysis, G. kotschyi and G. dissectum had the lowest similarity and the species of G. sylvaticum and G. pratense had the highest similarity. The aims of present study are: 1) can SCoT markers identify Geranium species, 2) what is the genetic structure of these taxa in Iran, and 3) to investigate the species inter-relationship? The present study revealed that combination of morphological and SCoT data can identify the species.