Analysis of genetic diversity of Matricaria chamomilla (L.) populations in Lebanon -

Abstract

Matricaria Chamomilla is known as the star among medicinal plants given its diverse and multiple therapeutic properties. It has been used since the old times in traditional medicine and recently found its way into modern medicine, thanks to the presence of a variety of active compounds that can be used in pharmacology. Chamomile is ubiquitous in Lebanon with a wide distribution raging between different localities including Mount Lebanon and South Lebanon among others; however it is currently facing threats due to drought and habitat destruction because of urbanization, construction and lack of awareness. Thus, understanding the genetic diversity among the different populations is highly important for prioritization of sites and conservation of the species. To achieve that, 10 polymorphic SCoT markers were used to analyze the genetic diversity among nine populations of M. chamomilla. Results on molecular screening showed that DNA isolation from young plants of Matricaria was difficult due to the presence of carbohydrates, and that using common protocols for DNA isolation from medicinal plants were not able to generate good quality DNA. Amplifiable DNA, for further molecular screening using SCoT markers, was obtained only by using a commercial kit. SCoT primers were able to generate 262 bands all polymorphic with 50percent of the variance partitioned among populations and 49percent within them. Neighbor Joining analysis clustered the nine populations of M. chamomilla into 4 distinct groups with a gene flow (Nm=0.4365) and genetic differentiation ranged from 0.121 to 0.191. The population of Jezzine remained isolated. Principal Coordinate Analysis clustered 119 individuals within their population and they were grouped following the same pattern as the Neighbor Joining tree. The calculation of Nei’s genetic diversity index (h) revealed that the genetic diversity in Mount Lebanon was lower than in the South, indicating the need to place a conservation plan that would prevent the extinction of one of the most marketed med