Study of morphological and seed storage proteins characteristics of Chelcheragh lily (Lilium ledebourii) populations in Iran

Chelcheragh lily (Lilium ledebourii) is a wild endangered species which has been registered as a national heritage in Iran. As an ornamental plant, it has also the potential to be supplied to national and global flower markets. In this study, the genetic diversity of different populations of the species was carried out based on electrophoresis of seed storage protein and the comparison of morphological characteristics in five plant populations of the species in three provinces of Gilan, Mazandaran and Ardebil. Based on 13 morphological characteristics, plants from Damash (Gilan province) had the highest average of the most of the studied traits while the two regions of  Dorfak and kelardasht (Gilan and Mazandaran provinces, respectively) were very similar and in a lower  rank. Seeds of five populations of the species were collected and SDS-PAGE electrophoresis was performed. Most of the bands were in the range of low molecular weight proteins (18.4, 35 and 45 KDa) and the lowest number of bands was observed in the moderate molecular weights. Presence or absence of the bands on the electrophoresis profile were determined and scored. Using cluster analysis, the populations were classified. The results divided the samples into two categories. Dorfak and Kelardasht plant populations were allocated in the same cluster while Ardabil, Damash and Vazrood plant populations were allocated in the other clusters. Minimum distance between the populations of Ardebil and Damash likely indicates common genetic origin. Dorfak population and Kelardasht had the lowest gap. Maximum distance was observed between Damash and Kelardasht populations suggesting that the differences in the genes encoding seed storage proteins probably indicates the development of the two populations towards independent species.