GENETIC UNIFORMITY OF EXOTIC MEDICINAL PLANT GYNURA DIVARICATA IN THAILAND

Abstract

Gynura divaricata (L.) DC., is a traditional medicinal herb used as an important treatment in several diseases such as diabetes, hypertension and inflammation. This study, Sequence related amplified polymorphism (SRAP) markers were used to detect genetic variation among 55 populations of exotic medicinal G. divaricata in Thailand. Twenty-eight SRAP primer combinations produced a total of 180 fragments with an average of 6.43 per primer combination. The genetic uniformity was detected in G. divaricata within Thailand indicating all accessions likely consist of the same genotype. The complete lack of heterozygosity confirms that genetic bottlenecks occurred during the species’ spread and cultivation. Its obligate asexual reproduction in introduced ranges which human-mediated may have contributed to its no genetic variation in Thailand.