Assessment of genetic diversity among the natural population of Aerides multiflorum Roxb. from Kangra Valley using RAPD and ISSR markers

Aerides multiflorum Roxb. is an important ornamental and medicinal plant native to Asia. From the wild, plants are collected for their restorative and ornamental uses, resulting in the depletion of the population in the natural habitat. It is now included in the Red Data list of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). Genetic diversity among 12 randomly collected plants of A. multiflorum from different locations in Kangra Valley, Himachal Pradesh, India, was investigated using Random Amplified Polymorphic DNA (RAPD) and Inter-Simple Sequence Repeat (ISSR) markers. For the assessment of genetic diversity, 40 primers (20 of each RAPD and ISSR) were tested, and out of these 16 RAPD and 19 ISSR primers amplified polymorphic bands. The RAPD primers amplified 101 markers (average 6.31 markers per primer), and 182 markers were amplified using ISSR primers (average 9.57 markers per primer). Individually, RAPD and ISSR showed 86.50% and 89.06% polymorphism, respectively. The unweighted pair-group method with arithmetic averaging (UPGMA) clustering based on RAPD data grouped all plants into two major groups and placed the TA1 plant as an out-group, whereas in the case of ISSR, and combined RAPD and ISSR data, the plant KCA3 was identified as an out-group. The principal component analysis (PCA), based on combined RAPD and ISSR data, grouped all plants into three clusters. It was important to note that plants collected from nearby locations were grouped. The data identified a higher level of diversity among the members of this population, which indicates a fast-evolving population with a possibility of long-term survival if protected from external disturbances.