GENETIC RELATIONSHIP AMONG SOME GENERA OF THE FAMILY CACTACEAE

The family Cactaceae comprises many genera, has taxonomic controversies at the species level, and yet has not been studied at the genetic level in Iraq. The presented study focused on species genotyping based on the RAPD-PCR method. The classification of six species, i.e., Hylocereus undatus, Aloe vera, Opuntia ficus-indica, Espostoa guentheri, Echinocactus grusonii, and Mammillaria elongata, ensued based on phenotypic characters to determine their precise taxonomic names and evaluate kinship by constructing the phylogeny tree RAPD-PCR. The short oligo primers showed the highest polymorphic bands (100%), with no monomorphic and basal bands correlated among these species. This highly polymorphic relationship indicated that each species has a superior identity and unique evolutionary trend. The oligo primers were considered productive by showing highly distinct and sharp bands, while others showed faint bands. This research confirmed the efficacy of RAPD primers in measuring polymorphism, comparing genotypes, and identifying Cacti species using specialized RAPD markers.