Evaluation of genetic diversity in the medicinal plant Kakooti (Ziziphora tenuior L.) using morphological characteristics and RAPD markers

iziphora tenuior named Kakooti in Iran is a medicinal plant that is traditionally used in some treatment of diseases, pain reduction and infection treatment. Kakooti is an aromatic annual plant and has a wide distribution in Iran. In this study, 13 morphological characters and 16 RAPD primers were used to evaluate genetic diversity of 39 samples of Kakooti from 21 geographic regions of Iran. Calculated genetic similarity between samples based on polymorphic bands was in the range of 0.19 to 0.77, and 16 applied primers indicated 90.3% polymorphism. Both molecular and morphological markers showed high degree of polymorphism in the samples. Correlation levels between RAPD and morphological markers was not significant (r=0.01). Results showed this species have a considerable diversity in Iran that can be a valuable genetic resource for breeding research on Kakooti in the future.