Approach of Genetic Diversity of Lippia alba (Mill) and Petiveria alliacea L.: Medicinal Plants of Colombia

The medicinal Lippia alba and Petiveria alliacea , originating from Central and South America, exhibit a wide range of beneficial properties, including antimicrobial, antifungal, anti-inflammatory, antitumor, analgesic, and antibacterial effects. However, little is known about their population structure and genetic diversity, which may hinder the establishment of their cultivation in different regions of Colombia. In this study, we conducted a comprehensive analysis of the genetic diversity and population structure of 17 samples of L. alba from the departments of Tolima, Valle del Cauca, and Putumayo, as well as 31 samples of P. alliacea from the departments of Cundinamarca, Boyacá, Tolima, and Valle del Cauca. We employed restriction-site associated DNA sequencing (RADseq) with the enzyme PstI. We performed denovo_map and ref_map pipeline for L. alba and identified a total of 17,036 loci and 14,562 SNPs, respectively, revealing a genetic variation of 5.19% (FST of 0.05; p