RAPD based genetic relationships between populations of three chemotypes of Cunila galioides Benth.

Cunila galioides, a popular aromatic and medicinal plant of South Brazil, is one of the 12 South American species of the genus Cunila. With a center of distribution on the highlands of South Brazil, C. galioides has been separated in three chemotypes, characterized by high concentrations of citral, ocimene and menthene, respectively. Twenty populations collected at Rio Grande do Sul and Santa Catarina States, were analyzed by RAPD using 20 arbitrary primers that generated 239 scorable bands. Genetic distances were calculated using Jaccard's coefficient. Cluster analysis was carried out using the Single Linkage method. The analysis with RAPD markers revealed wide variation within C. galioides that reflected a high level of diversity within this species. Cluster and canonical discriminating analysis indicated that the populations of the citral and menthene chemotypes are more closely related to each other, and the populations of the ocimene chemotype represent a different genetic pool.