Determination of genetic diversity of Sonchus erzincanicus Matthews (Asteraceae), a critically endangered plant endemic to Turkey using RAPD markers

This study was carried out to determine the genetic structure of three Sonchus erzincanicus (one of the endemic species in Turkey that is on the edge of extinction) populations from Ekşisu, Beşsaray and Saztepe districts in Erzincan province, using Random Amplified Polymorphic DNA (RAPD) marker. In this study, 15 samples from each population were used and sixteen RAPD (Random Amplified Polymorphic DNA) produced 125 bands at a size of 250-3000 bp. Beşsaray has the maximum polymorphism rate (84.80%) among the populations, whereas Ekşisu has the minimum rate (58.40%). Beşsaray and Ekşisu were the closest populations according to Nei's genetic distance values (D=0.9671), and Ekşisu and Saztepe were the farthest populations (D=0.0639). The gene flow between populations (Nm) was calculated as 1.71, while genetic differentiation (Gst) was calculated as 0.127. © Universitatea din Oradea. All rights reserved.