Sys Rev Pharm 2020;11(8):775-778 A multifaceted review journal in the field of pharmacy 775 Systematic Reviews in Pharmacy Vol 11, Issue 8, Aug-Sept 2020 Genetic Diversity of Three Medicinal Plants of Apiaceous Family Ola Hataf Hazim 1 , Mohammed Ayyed Najm 2 , Zaid Osamah Ibraheem 3 1 ola.hataf@gmail.com, 2 dr.mohammed.ayyed@gmail.com, 3 zaid.2002.205@gmail.com Department of Pharmacy, Al Rafidain University College, Al Mustansyria, Baghdad, Iraq. ABSTRACT Lots of debates has been risen up about the genetic rapport among species of Apiaceae family. Till now there is no quite suitable contemporary categorization at hand. This study aimed at sequencing the 18S ribosomal RNA gene (ITS gene) in three plants in this family, namely; Apium graveolens, Petroselinum crispum and Coriandrum sativum. This is to see if there is any genetic variation among them. Briefly, the plants were collected and their DNA was extracted, exposed to PCR amplification and Sangar sequencing to determine the genetic sequence of the 18S rRNA gene of each specie and compare it with a reference gene from the gene bank. The results showed that the gene was 99% identical with that of the standard of the gene bank for each of the Coriandrum sativum and Apium graveolens. While the percentage was100 % for Petroselinum crispum. This suggests that the mentioned gene was identical in the three species and excludes the incidence of any significant variation within this gene. Keywords: - Ribosomal, Apiaceous, Coriandrum, Apium, Corriandrum, , compatible and gene bank. Gene variation. INTRODUCTION The Apiaceae (Umbelliferae) family is comprised of over 3,000 species of famous herbaceous plants with lots of medicinal effects. They are distributed widely over the sub-tropical, sub-temperate and temperate regions of the world. Plants of this family are famous nutritional, flavoring or medical agents as they are endowed with lots of phytochemicals with potent antimicrobial and anti- inflammatory properties. The most famous vegetable crops that belong to this family are carrot (Daucus carota), parsley (Petroselinum crispum), celery (Apium graveolens), Peruvian carrot (Arracacia xanthorrhiza) and coriander (Coriandrum sativum)[1 ]&[2 ]. It is expected to notice the presence of the genetic diversity among species of the same family due to the expected incidence of the genetic drift, gene flow or mutational changes. This results in the evolution of offspring generations with new characters [3 ]. The first involves changes in the allele frequency after having a random mating of the individuals [4 ]. On the other hand, the gene flow involves the transfer of the genetic materials by pollens in the winds or the migrating birds [5 ]. Meanwhile, random mutations may create new genes with unique characters in the subsequent generations resulting in deterioration or improvement in the aptitude of the organism to adapt to the surrounding environment. They are mostly induced by changes in the conditions of the surrounding environment, such as climate changes or exposure to toxins or pesticides. Such mutational changes are characterized by the occurrence of SNPs (Single Nucleotide Polymorphism); which involves substitution of one genetic codon by another one resulting in prominence of the interindividual differences [6 ] and [7 ]. In this study, the genetic variation in the 18 S rRNA gene in three species of Apiacea family, namely; Corriander sativum, Apium gravedus and Petroselinuim crispum was analyzed. They were procured from the same zone; farms around Baghdad city. It is noteworthy that this gene is one of the important ribosomal RNA molecules; that inter in the structure of the ribosomes. Its gene has a unique importance and was used extensively in the molecular analyses related to phylogenetic studies. MATERIAL AND METHODS Materials Chamicals DNA extraction kit was procured form (ZR Plant/Seed DNA MiniPrep). Meanwhile ethidium bromide, agarose , TAE loading buffer were procured form USA- pioneer. The Taq PCR was procured form (PreMix (Intron, Korea)) The forward and the reverse primers of the ITS gener were procured form IDT (Integrated DNA Technologies company, Canada). Agarose gel electrophoresis Plant material Leaves of three plants; belong to the family of Apiaceous, were procured from several Iraqi farms around Baghdad city. They were namely; Corriander sativum, Apium gravedus and Petroselinuim crispum. They were identified by specialists in the herbarium center for botanical plants classification in Baghdad University. The leaves were washed out, were mixed with liquid nitrogen and then were pulverized using pestle and mortar. Method