DNA analysis will remain the most effective tool for identification because phytochemical content will vary with the plant parts used, physiological status and environmental conditions. The medicinal effectiveness of the plant species is related to the quantity of that compound in question; hence the species, strain and geographical origin can be distinguished using chemical fingerprinting. The HPLC estimation carried out by us showed considerable phytochemical variation in the genotypes of Gloriosa superba. The phytochemical diversity measured as quantitative difference in the accumulated colchicine ranged from 0.192 to 1.312 (mg/g dw). The concentration of colchicine in different populations of this plant varied with geographical conditions. The variation may be largely due to interplay of environmental conditions and genetic variation. The diversity of chemotypes linked to geographical distances could explain the low level of gene flow among populations as a result of the level of seed and pollen migration expected to be low among populations. Different types of molecular markers have been used to ascertain DNA polymorphism is considered as a one of the most efficient molecular methods in terms of ability to produce abundant polymorphic markers within a short time and limited budget, the RAPD- DNA, a PCR based technique is a simple and cost-effective tool for analysis of plant genome. It is technically least demanding and offers a fast method for providing information from a large number of loci. RAPD has become widely used in various areas of plant research and it has proved to be a valuable tool in studying inter and intraspecific genetic variation, patterns of gene expression, and identification of specific genes using nearly isogenic variants 19. More recently, RAPD has been used for estimation of genetic diversity in Withania somnifera 20 collected from different geographical regions. Systematic morphological characterization of Gloriosa germplasm is of great significance for future programs on quality enhancement of the crop. The present study aimed at identification of elite collections of populations and their spatial distribution in the study area linking the phenotypic variability with the chemical relatedness of populations based on alkaloid Colchicine content. In this study ten populations from different regions of the study area grown at a single location were subjected to same environmental conditions. Therefore observed variations could be largely genetic. Present studies are in conformity with the earlier workers like Arunkumar et. al. 21 indicating no significant correlation between environment (edaphic factors) and morphological charactersor with alkaloid content confirming t h a t phytochemical variations are by and large gene related. It has been claimed that molecular data are superior to morphological characters because they are more numerous and easier to define as they are linear rather than multi- dimensional. Nevertheless this premise has not been fulfilled in majority of events 22. In this study there is no correlation between the geographical distance among populations of Gloriosa superba and genetic diversity. The UPGMA dendrogram in the present study showed that some populations from different regions of the study area were located in the same cluster. The lack of such correlation could be partially explained by a possible adaptive RAPD ecogeographical differentiation associated with habitat fragmentation 23. However RAPD markers are dominant and thus are less suitable for linkage analysis than co-dominant markers. This advantage could be overcome by using several statistical methods such as analysis of molecular variance 24.Our RAPD based AMOVA studies show that most genetic variation in Gloriosa superba distributed within population rather than between them, indicating a relatively restricted population Proceedings of the International Conference on Climate Change, Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services for the 67 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs): Policy and Practice 27-29 June 2016, Cha-am, Phetchaburi, Thailand
Proceedings of International Conference on Climate Change, Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services for the Sustainable Development Goals : Policy and Practice 27-29 June 2016 at the Sirindhorn International Environmental Park, Cha-am, Phetchaburi, Thailand
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