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Assessment of genetic diversity in the medicinal climber Gymnema sylvestre from Karnataka, India

Mouna.H.M., P. Jagan Mohan Reddy, P.E Rajasekharan, Ismail Shareef, Sreekanth B

Gymnema sylvestre (Retz.) R. Br. ex Sm., a rich source with gymnemic acid, has been used to treat diabetes since past 2000 years. A study was conducted to evaluate the genetic diversity of G.sylvestre collected from twelve different geographical locations of Karnataka state of India using ISSR molecular markers. A total of 80 clear and reproducible bands were amplified with different lengths using the 10 selected ISSR primers, of which 68 (85%) were polymorphic and remaining 12 (15%) were monomorphic. The high level of genetic variation (85%) observed among the populations of G.sylvestre implied the need to conserve populations to maintain within this species. As an important medicinal plant, it would be wise to save populations of G.sylvestre in different regions in order to limit population declines caused by over exploitation