Genetic Diversity in Commiphora wightii (Arn.) Bhandari (Guggul): An Assessment of Populations in Conservation Sites of Kachchh Region (Gujarat) of India

Introduction: Commiphora wightii (Arn.) Bhandari (Guggul) is native to semi-arid to arid zones. Its oleoresin gum is used for both medicinal and non-medicinal applications. Reportedly, the species faces high degree conservation threats. A network of Four Medicinal Plants Conservation Areas (MPCA) was carved out in Kachchh region- under financial support from National Medicinal Plants Board. The species also occurs in sanctuary and protected by default. It is considered important to assess genetic diversity of these conserved populations. Methods: A total of 38 accessions of Guggul leaves were collected from five study sites and the whole genomic DNA was extracted for each sample. Genetic study was carried out using ISSR technique. Scorable bands were obtained for 14 out of 40 primers tested. A total of 49 bands were obtained of which 20 were polymorphic in nature. UPGMA dendrograms were constructed for individual sites and also a collective dendrogram for all the study sites. Results: All the 8 accessions of Tharawada MPCA were observed to share a high similarity coefficient. Among rest of three sites, genetic diversity was seen to be narrow. The accessions obtained from NSWS displayed good diversity. These accessions were also noted to be distant to the populations captured in the MPCA sites. Conclusions: Established MPCA sites capture the available gene pool of Commiphora wightii of Kachchh region. Since NSWS populations are distant to rest of the region, it is suggested to create another site for this purpose. It is desirable to assess the genetic diversity in rest of the MPCA sites.