Analysis of genetic similarities among species of <i>Fragaria</i>, <i>Potentilla</i>, and <i>Duchesnea</i> found in northwest Argentina by using morphological, anatomical, and molecular characters

Abstract

Morphological, anatomical, and molecular techniques were used to characterize wild strawberry and wild strawberry-like species in northwest Argentina. Characteristics of leaves, flowers, runners, achenes, and genomic DNA polymorphisms were used to analyze similarities among Potentilla tucumanensis Castagnaro &amp; Arias, Duchesnea indica (Andr.) Focke, and Fragaria vesca L. Comparison of phenograms obtained by using morphological and anatomical traits or genomic DNA characters revealed similar clustering of the species. Both phenograms suggest that D. indica is more closely related to P. tucumanensis than to F. vesca. Using the randomly amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) technique with specific primers, we detected polymorphic bands that permit the identification of P. tucumanensis, D. indica, and F. vesca. In addition, we report new morphological and anatomical characters that can be used as diagnostic traits for better identification of species in reproductive and vegetative states.Key words: Fragaria, Potentilla, Duchesnea, RAPD, DNA fingerprinting, morphological traits, anatomical traits.