The assessment of genetic diversity and population structure of Verbascum gypsicola by ISSR markers for conservation purposes

The habitats of many plant species are under severe threat, especially from human activities. Therefore, it was aimed to determine the genetic potential of endemic Verbascum gypsicola in Turkey. Samples were taken from 96 individuals belonging to four populations of V. gypsicola. While the percentage of polymorphic locus at the species level was 99.5%, the average percentage of polymorphic locus at the population level was 61.1%, the Nei gene diversity was H = 0.14; the Shannon information index was determined as I = 0.24. At the same time, the total genetic diversity of the species, genetic diversity within the populations, genetic diversity among populations and gene flow values between the populations were determined as HT = 0.14, HS = 0.13, GST = 0.11 and NM = 3.72, respectively. Within‐population variation was 81%, among‐population variation was 8% and interregional variation was 11% according to AMOVA. Results from STRUCTURE analyses revealed two major groupings of populations and some divergence within one of the major groupings. While the genetic diversity at the species level was high, the genetic diversity at the population level was found to be lower than observed for previously studied Verbascum species. The most important reason for this is thought to reductions in population size, driven by environmental damage.