The Egyptian Zygophyllum species, though limited in number, contribute in considerable measure to the desert vegetation. They represent a group of succulent plants which are drought resistant or salt tolerant living under sever dry climatic conditions. Four wild plant species of the genus, i.e. Zygophyllum coccineum L., Zygophyllum simplex L., Zygophyllum decumbens Del. and Zygophyllum dumosum Boiss. were collected from different habitats for karyotype analysis and DNA fingerprinting using Inter Simple Sequence Repeat (ISSR). The karyotypes of the examined species were constructed based on centromeric position in chromosom and lengths as measured from mitotic chromosome preparations, tetraploid number of 2 n = 32 was scored in z. coccineum and a diploid number (2 n = 16) was scored in z. simplex, in the other two species a triploid number of 2 n = 24 was recorded. The ISSR data were analyzed using the SPSS program to assess the genetic relationship among the four Zygophyllum sp. The ISSR data differentiated Z. decumbens and Z. dumosum from Z. coccineum and Z. simplex.
Key words: Zygophyllum, Karyotype analysis, ISSR, Conservation biology
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