Genetic diversity of plantations and natural stands of Avicenna marina across northern coast of Persian Gulf

The coasts of Imam Khomeini port are one of the most important hot spots of mangrove plantations across Iranian coast of Persian Gulf and Sea of Oman, so this is very important to conserve this valuable ecosystem. For this purpose, 75 individual from 3 populations, keeping the minimum distance of 30 to 50 meters from each other, has been collected and investigated using 15 ISSR markers. This study aims to investigate genetic diversity of plantations and natural stands of Avicennia marina, using ISSR. 14 primers produced 284 bands in 75 individual of Avicennia marina from three populations. The results showed a relatively high genetic diversity at the species level (P = 69.48%, He = 0.199, SI = 0.308). Genetic diversity in the plantation population (P = 55.99%, He = 0.179, SI = 0.272) was lower than the two natural populations, Nayband Bay (P = 85.21%, He = 0.232, SI = 0.364) and Qeshm Island (P = 67.25%, He = 0.184, SI = 0.288). The AMOVA revealed that most of the genetic variation was accounted for within populations (82%) with only 18% among the populations studied, indicating that the genetic diversity of the plantation population was fairly conserved. The dendrogram based on the genetic distances showed two major clusters, separating the natural populations from the plantation population. The highly significant genetic differentiation between plantation population and natural populations, highlights the need to enhance genetic diversity of plantation stand by continued periodical planting of significant amount of seedlings from highly diverse natural populations.