Determination of genetic relationship using rapd marker in some species of Astragalus L. (fabaceae) from Iraq

This research aims to study eight species of the genus Astragalus L. by determining the genetic relationship using RAPD markers, detecting the genetic distance between species growing in Iraq, and drawing the UPGMA tree for the studied species. Fresh plant samples of species belonging to the genus Astragalus L. were collected from different locations in central and northern Iraq during the period from September 2021 to February 2022 and DNA isolation, estimation of DNA molecular sizes and RAPD-PCR reactions were performed. The study showed that there are two main groups in which the studied species are distributed by used UPGMA; The first group includes A. oxyglottis and A. pulchellus, which are separated from the rest of the species due to their genetic distance reaching 0.873. The second group included six species, A. alyysoides, A. campylorrhynchus, A. corrugatus, A. hamosus, A. mollis and A. sarae. The second group was divided into two subgroups, each containing three closely related species. The first secondary group consisted of A. alyysoides, A. campylorrhynchus and A. hamosus. The other secondary group includes the genetically closely related A. corrugatus, A. mollis and A. sarae