PHYLOGENETIC ANALYSIS OF SOME SPECIES OF CYPERACEAE BASED ON DNA INTERNAL TRANSCRIBED SPACERS (ITS) IN IRAQ

Cyperaceae is the third-largest monocot family and has ecological and commercial significance worldwide. It is also a perfect model family for evolutionary research due to species diversity and the wide range of variations in lineage diversity. Using a nuclear region internal transcribed spacer (ITS), the current study attempted to identify the three species (Carex otrubae, Bolboschoenus fluviatilis, and Eleocharis palustris) and examine their relationships within the Cyperaceae family. In 2021, gathering of samples transpired from various locations along the Al-Hussainiya River in Iraq and the National Herbarium. According to the findings, the length of the fragments sequenced ranged between 750 and 1000 bp. Results also showed the sequence alignments between the two species (Carex otrubae and Bolboschoenus fluviatilis) have similarities and differences with those deposited in the Genome Bank. However, the Eleocharis palustris showed complete similarity in all regions of the nitrogenous base sequences with species deposited in the Genome Bank.