Indian Journal of Biotechnology Vol 16, July 2017, pp. 344-348 ISSR analysis reveals low genetic diversity and high genetic differentiation in Kaempferia galanga L. in South India populations P E Rajasekharan, V K Abdul Kareem, B S Ravish, S Mini Division of Plant Genetic Resources, Indian Institute of Horticultural Research Hessaraghatta Lake Post Bangalore-560089, India Received 13 August 2015; revised 1 September 2015; accepted 16 September 2015 Kaempferia galanga is an important medicinal herb used in many ayurvedic drug preparations. We investigated the genetic diversity and structure of 4 populations of K. galanga collected from South India using inter simple sequence repeat (ISSR) markers. A low level genetic diversity was noticed among the populations (PPB = 44.45%; h = 0.1517 and I = 0.2309). Average diversity within population was also low (PPB = 23.29%; h = 0.1003; I = 0.1439) and the highest genetic diversity was observed in Shimoga population (PPB = 27.27%; h = 0.112; I = 0.1625). Nei’s differentiation coefficients (GST) was found to be high (0.3942) and the gene flow (Nm) was low (0.7683), confirming the high population genetic differentiation. The unweighted pair-group method using arithmetic average (UPGMA) clustering demonstrated similar results. Based on the overall low genetic diversity and high genetic differentiation among K. galanga populations in South India, a conservation strategy is proposed. Key words: Kaempferia galanga, medicinal herb, ISSR, genetic diversity, genetic differentiation. Introduction Kaempferia galanga L (Zingiberaceae), an aromatic rhizomatous herbal spice, is an important ingredient of many ayurvedic drug preparations. It is distributed in tropical and subtropical regions of India, Burma, China, Malaysia, Thailand, Nigeria, Mexico and other countries 1,2 .The species is supposed to have been originated in East Asia, most probably in Burma. In India, it is found to be distributed throughout the plains and cultivated as an ornament and for its aromatic rhizome 3 .The pungent, hot, sharp, bitter and aromatic rhizomes find an important place in indigenous medicine as stimulant, expectorant, diuretic and carminative 1 . In India, it is caused remedy for all diseases caused by the morbidity of vata and kapha and is especially useful in respiratory ailments like cough, bronchitis and asthma 3 . It is commonly called ‘Kacholam’ in ayurvedic system of medicine and is an important constituent of a variety of Ayurvedic preparations like Dasamularista, Valiyarasnadikasaya, Kaccoradichurna, Asanaeladitaila, Valiyanarayanataila, etc 4 . It has also been extensively used in other systems of medicine for treatment of various disorders including hypertension, rheumatism and asthma 5 . K. galanga is reported to have anticancer, antioxidant, antibacterial and anti- inflammatory activities too 6-8 . In addition, the aromatic rhizomes of the plant yield an essential oil which is utilized in the manufacture of perfumes and in curry flavouring. It is also employed in cosmetics, mouth- washes, hair tonics and toiletries 4 . K. galanga is a perennial herb and is propagated by rhizomes. In India it is cultivated mainly in Kerala, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and West Bengal and it is doubt ful for its wild distribution in Southern India. A last report of its wild existence is on 1979 from Silent Valley. It is reported to have great export potential 9 . The species is in the verge of extinction owing to the indiscriminate and unsustainable harvesting and is one among 100 red listed medicinal plants to be conserved in southern India and is assessed as critically endangered/regional 10 . Information on population genetic structure and genetic diversity of a plant species is essential for developing suitable conservation strategies 11,12 . Despite its ethnobotanical and pharmaceutical significance, genetic variability of K. galanga is less characterized 1,13 . The present study focused on the genetic diversity analysis of K. galanga accessions collected from Kerala and Karnataka states of India using inter simple sequence repeats (ISSR) markers. Our study compared the genetic diversity within populations and the genetic differentiation among populations. This information would be a reference for the sustainable utilization of genetic resources when devising programs for species conservation. ————— *Author for correspondence rajasekharan.pe@gmail.com