Genetic diversity and inter-relationship among Stellaria L. (Caryophyllaceae) species by ISSR markers

Stellaria L. (Caryophyllaceae, Alsinoideae) comprises ca. 150-200 species across the world. Stellaria species are common herbs, preferred humid mountainously slopes, but some grew in desert. Main center of diversification for Stellaria is Eurasia, with a center of distribution in the mountains of E. central Asia. Therefore, due to the importance of these plant species, we performed a molecular data analysis for this genus. For this study, we used 65 randomly collected plants from six species in six provinces. Amplification of genomic DNA using 5 primers produced 70 bands, of which 62 were polymorphic (84.00%). The obtained high average PIC and MI values revealed high capacity of ISSR primers to detect polymorphic loci among Stellaria species. The genetic similarities of six collections were estimated from 0.69 to 0.85. According to Inter-Simple sequence repeats (ISSR) markers analysis, S. pallida and S. graminea had the lowest similarity and the species of S. media and S. pallida had the highest similarity. The aims of present study are: 1) can ISSR markers identify Stellaria species, 2) what is the genetic structure of these taxa in Iran, and 3) to investigate the species inter-relationship? The present study revealed that ISSR markers can identify the species.