Genetic Diversity and Population Structure of Korean Mint Agastache rugosa (Fisch & Meyer) Kuntze (Lamiaceae) Using ISSR Markers

Agastache rugosa, a member of the mint family (Labiatae), is a perennial herb widely distributed in East Asiancountries. It is used in traditional medicine for the treatment of cholera, vomiting, and miasma. This study assessed thegenetic diversity and population structures on 65 accessions of Korean mint A. rugosa germplasm based on inter simplesequence repeat (ISSR) markers. The selected nine ISSR primers produced reproducible polymorphic banding patterns. Intotal, 126 bands were scored; 119 (94.4%) were polymorphic. The number of bands generated per primer varied from 7 to18. A minimum of seven bands was generated by primer 874, while a maximum of 18 bands was generated by the primer844. Six primers (815, 826, 835, 844, 868, and 874) generated 100% polymorphic bands. This was supported by otherparameters such as total gene diversity (HT) values, which ranged from 0.112 to 0.330 with a mean of 0.218. The effectivenumber of alleles (NE) ranged from 1.174 to 1.486 with a mean value of 1.351. Nei’s genetic diversity (H) mean value was0.218, and Shannon’s information index (I) mean value was 0.343. The high values for total gene diversity, effectivenumber of alleles, Nei’s genetic diversity, and Shannon’s information index indicated substantial variations within thepopulation. Cluster analysis showed characteristic grouping, which is not in accordance with their geographical affiliation. The implications of the results of this study in developing a strategy for the conservation and breeding of A. rugosa and othermedicinal plant germplasm are discussed.