Analysis of genetic diversity and phylogenetic relationships in Crocus genus of Iran using inter-retrotransposon amplified polymorphism

Seven long terminal repeat (LTR)-retrotransposon primers derived from barley were employed for analysis of genetic diversity and phylogeny relationships in Iranian species of genus Croccus. Fifteen out of 28 possible LTR primer combinations successfully amplified fragments from Crocus genome. In average, 65.9 fragments were amplified per individual in different populations indicating a moderate homology between Crocus and barley genome in the long terminal repeat regions. Our data confirmed the inter-generic transferability of retrotransposon markers. Analysis of molecular variance (AMOVA) indicated significant heterogenecity within and between populations except within the C. sativus (saffron) species. Principle coordinate analysis (PCoA) using an individual-by-individual genetic distance matrix separated the populations based on species type as well as geographical regions. The analysis revealed a close relationship between saffron and three wild species: C. almehensis, C. michelosnii, and C. cancellatus. Phylogenetic tree based on Neighbor-Joining algorithm and Jukes and Cantor evolutionary distances separated all species except C. caspius and C. gilanicus. The result of this study documented C. almehensis, C. michelosnii as the closest relatives of saffron and probably the possible wild ancestors of this cultivates species.