Evaluation of yarrow (<i>Achillea</i>) accessions by phytochemical and molecular genetic tools

• Main Authors: Katalin Inotai, Zsuzsanna György, Sára Kindlovits, György Várady, Eva Nemeth-Zámbori
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Julius Kühn-Institut 2016-03-01
• Series: Journal of Applied Botany and Food Quality
• Subjects: Achillea collina; essential oil; proazulene; PCR; RAPD; ISSR
• Online Access: https://ojs.openagrar.de/index.php/JABFQ/article/view/5681

Yarrow (Achillea) species are known and utilized worldwide. In the recent study our primarily goal was to get information about the intraspecific diversity of A. collina in the Carpathian Basin. Five cultivated genotypes and six populations of wild origin were compared involving seven other species as control. Essential oil (EO) and proazulene (PA) contents were determined and the DNA samples were evaluated by RAPD (11 primers) and ISSR (12 primers) methods. The EO content varied between 0.010 (A. distans) and 0.365 (A. collina) ml/100g DW, the PA content was found between 0.021 and 0.173% DW. The used RAPD markers provided 140 bands (97.14% polymorphic). They distinguished primarily among species and less characteristically among the A. collina populations. With ISSR primers we detected 188 bands (97.34% polymorphic). ISSR markers and combined RAPD and ISSR method enabled an informative intraspecific evaluation of A. collina accessions. The largest genetic distances were found between A. ptarmica and the members of sect. Achillea (genetic distances 0.52-0.72). Similarity is highest (genetic distance 0.27) among the populations of lower geographical distances. Nei’s genetic distances of cultivated populations are also relatively low (0.23- 0.36). Some wild accessions may represent valuable biological resources for breeding.