TAXONOMICAL STUDIES ON FOUR MENTHA SPECIES GROWN IN EGYPT THROUGH MORPHO-ANATOMICAL CHARACTERS AND SCOT GENETIC MARKERS.

Four species grown in Egypt and belong to genus Mentha (family Lamiaceae) were studied. These species represented by one wild specie with two subspecies; M. longifolia subsp. typhoides and subsp. schimperi and three cultivated ones; M. spicata, M. sativa and M. peperita. The aim of this study was to determine the taxonomic relationships among these species through leaf morphological characters. Stomata and trichome patterns were examined under Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM), in addition to the observation of the anatomical characteristics of leaf, petiole and stem by using the optical microscope. The analysis of volatile oil by GC-MS was carried out to identify the differences in the chemical constituent level among the studied species. At the molecular level, ten SCOT markers were utilized to examine the genetic diversity and phylogeny among the four Mentha species. 190 amplified fragments were scored with sizes ranging from 250 to 3000 bp. The similarity percentages ranged 25.7% to 45.5% between the four species. These results revealed significant differences among the studied Mentha species. They were clustered into three groups based on the UPGMA analysis. These results prove the accuracy of SCOT markers in estimating the genetic diversity, identification and phylogeny of Mentha species. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]