GENETIC DIVERSITY OF ALPINIA MALACCENSIS (BURM.F.) ROSCOE (ZINGIBERACEAE) IN JAVA']JAVA ISLAND, INDONESIA

Alpinia malaccensis (Burm.f.) Roscoe is a rare plant in Java, Indonesia, that produces essential oils. Its sustained decline causes great concern for future uses. Therefore, the study of its diversity in its natural habitat to predict future survival needs serious focus. The present study aims to determine the genetic diversity of A. malaccensis in Java based on ISSR markers. The sampling of a total of 11 populations yielded 33 accessions, which underwent amplifying using 12 ISSR primers. Using the molecular data analyzed their relationships, population structure, and genetic diversity. The UPGMA cluster, structure, and principal component analysis (PCA) demonstrated that the accessions divide in three groups, a result that correlates with their geography in Java. Group I consisted of var. malaccensis populations, while groups II and III comprised the var. nobilis populations, which proved truer among populations of var. nobilis. The genetic diversity category of A. malaccensis showed moderate based on Nei's genetic diversity (h = 0.2892) and Shannon's information index (I = 0.4438). The coefficient of genetic differentiation (G(ST)) and molecular variance among the populations displayed higher within the individual population, which revealed a significant genetic variance among the 11 populations of A. malaccensis. The latest results confirm that ISSR markers can help distinguish the genotypes of A. malaccensis.