Phylogenetic relationships of the genus Quercus L. (Fageceae) from three different sections

Abstract

In this study, the genetic diversity of 6 oak species known as Quercus coccifera L., Q. robur L., Q. infectoria Oliver, Q. cerris L., Q. ithaburensis subsp. macrolepsis (Kotschy) Hedge and Yalt. and Q. trojana P.B. Webb in 18 populations was screened using the randomly amplified polymorphic DNA method (RAPD). 10 RAPD primers giving the best results produced 262 total loci. The highest and lowest band sizes were between 125 and 1800 bp, respectively. The binary RAPD data was computed using the Statistica version 8.0 and Popgene 32, genetic data analysis software program. The principal component analysis and cluster analysis displayed the seperation of populations based on genetic distances. The genetic similarity and distance matrix using Popgene 32 based on Nei (1972) revealed the genetic relations between studied populations. As a result of this study, it may be expressed that genetic relationships are more similar in the species belonging to same section and especially the relationships between Quercus cerris and Quercus trojana in the section Cerris attracts quite attention.

Keywords: Cerris, genetic relationships, Quercus, randomly amplified polymorphic DNA method (RAPD)