Assessment of chemical and genetic variability in Tanacetum gracile accessions collected from cold desert of Western Himalaya

Genetic diversity is essential for survival and adaptation of high altitude plants such as those of Tanacetum genus, which are constantly exposed to environmental stress. We collected flowering shoots of ten accessions of Tanacetum gracile Hook.f. & Thomson (Asteraceae) (Tg 1–Tg 10), from different regions of cold desert of Western Himalaya. Chemical profile of the constituents, as inferred from GC–MS, exhibited considerable variability. Percentage yield of essential oil ranged from 0.2 to 0.75% (dry-weight basis) amongst different accessions. Tg 1 and Tg 6 were found to produce high yields of camphor (46%) and lavandulol (41%), respectively. Alpha-phellendrene, alpha-bisabool, p-cymene and chamazulene were the main oil components in other accessions. Genetic variability among the accessions was studied using RAPD markers as well as by sequencing and analyzing nuclear 18S rDNA, and plastid rbcL and matK loci. The polymorphic information content (PIC) of RAPD markers ranged from 0.18 to 0.5 and the analysis clustered the accessions into two major clades. The present study emphasized the importance of survey, collection, and conservation of naturally existing chemotypes of medicinal and aromatic plants, considering their potential use in aroma and pharmaceutical industry.