ABSTRACT
Objective: The genetic relationship of plants in Curculigo Gaertn. was analyzed in molecular level. Methods: Thirty individuls of seven species in Curculigo Gaertn. were employed to be analyzed by the approach of random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD). The parameters were calculated by Popgene Version 1.31 and the relationship was constructed based on UPGMA method. Results: Eleven primers screened out from 40 primers were used for RAPD amplification. A total of 157 bands were generated, of which 145 bands were polymorphism bands. The result showed that there was a high genetic diversity among the seven species in Curculigo Gaertn. At species level: percentage of polymorphic loci PPB was 92.36%, effective number of alleles Ne was 1.493 7, Nei's gene diversity H was 0.300 1, and Shannon's information index Hsp was 0.457 7; Within species levels: PPB was 5.09%, Ne was 1.036 6, Nei's gene diversity H was 0.020 4, and Shannon's information index Hpop was 0.029 8. The Nei's coefficient of genetic differentiation was 0.931 3, which was consistent with the Shannon's coefficient of genetic differentiation (0.934 9). Most of the genetic variation existed among populations. The gene flow was 0.036 9, which indicated that it was less among the populations and the degree of genetic differentiation was higher. Nei's genetic identity (I) was changed from 0.520 8 to 0.823 7. By clustering analysis, the classified result of RAPD marker was almost same with the traditional modal character. Conclusion: The genetic diversity of the seven species in Curculigo Gaertn. is high. The genetic difference among populations is higher than that within the species.