Genetic Diversity Assessment of Saltcedar (Tamarix ramosissima Ledeb.) Populations in Isfahan Province Using CDDP Molecular Marker

Tamarix species are tolerant to adverse environmental conditions and have significant distribution in dry and salty areas. Tamarix ramosissima is the most widely distributed species among Tamarix in Isfahan province and is mostly located in dry and desert areas. Due to the high morphological diversity of this species and the lack of population differentiation and in order to investigate the diversity in the populations of this species, 55 populations from 15 cities of Isfahan province were identified and one individual was sampled from each population. After extracting their genome, 10 CDDP marker primers were used to investigate the genetic diversity of the populations of this plant. NTSYS-pc, GenAlex and PowerMarker software were used for data analysis. The results showed 102 bands (80.168%) were polymorphic among the production of 124 bands. On average, each primer created an 7.85% polymorphic band. WRKY-F1 primer identified more gene locations than other primers by producing 16 bands. The average polymorphic information content (PIC) was calculated as 0.308. The indicator index for each primer was 3.865 on average. Molecular analysis of variance showed that intra-population variation was higher than inter-population variation. Cluster analysis and PCoA indicated the existence of two separate populations and three subpopulations among them. In general, the effectiveness of the CDDP marker in differentiating the populations of Tamarix ramosissima and the high genetic diversity within the populations, which is a valuable trait for breeding purposes, were confirmed.