Genetic variations among two Egyptian mint species (Mentha spicata and Mentha piperita) using random amplified Polymorphic DNA markers

In the present study, RAPD-PCR was used for identification of two mint species (Mentha spicata and Mentha piperita) collected from Egypt and studying the genetic variations among them. RAPD-PCR was conducted using ten oligonucleotide primers. The ten primers succeeded in amplifying of DNA fragments for the two Mentha species. These primers produced multiple fragments profiles ranging from 3 to 19 fragments. The polymorphism levels differed from primer to another. The number of polymorphic fragments ranged from 0 to 66.29 per primer. The total number of the obtained fragments from the ten primers was 83 fragments with 39 polymorphic fragments (46.98 %) across the two mint species. Forty percent of primers did not exhibit any polymorphism. This study provides evidence that RAPD Markers can be used as an efficient tool for the detection of the genetic variations and identifications of different mint species.