STUDY OF CLOSELY RELATED SPECIES OF THE GENUS ACHILLEA L. FLORA OF SIBERIA BY MOLECULAR GENETIC METHODS

Kulemin Yuriy E., Kuprijanov Andrey N.

There are 12 species of the genus Achillea L. in the flora of Siberia. Many of them have high polymorphism and weak differentiation in most diagnostic morphological features. The species A. sergievskiana Schaulo et Shmakov, A. schauloi Stepanov, A. kuprijanovii Stepanov included in Achillea aggr. asiatica are particularly difficult to diagnose. To distinguish them, molecular genetic methods were used with the allocation of informative ISSR primers. To detect DNA polymorphism, samples of the lower stem leaves were taken from 22 samples of A. asiatica; 5 samples of A. kuprijanovii, three samples of A. sergievskiana and A. schauloi. These species are characterized by different ecology of their growing places: A. asiatica – plain meadow species; A. schauloi – meadow-steppe species; A. kuprijanovii – medium mountain species (1100-1500 m above sea level); A. sergievskiana – a high-altitude species (1900-2200 m. Computer analysis of molecular genetic polymorphism of DNA showed a high degree of isolation of A. sergievskiana and A. schauloi and insufficient isolation of A. kuprijanovii from A. asiatica.

Keywords:Flora of Siberia, Achillea L., Achillea sergievskiana Schaulo et Shmakov, Achillea schauloi Stepanov, Achillea kuprijanovii Stepanov, molecular genetic methods