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Volume 14
Issue 24
10.3390/plants14243794
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Article

First EST-SSRs of Helichrysum italicum (Roth) G. Don (Asteraceae) Revealed Insights into the Genetic Diversity and Population Structure in Corsica

by
Petra Gabrovšek
1,
Matjaž Hladnik
1,
Dunja Bandelj
1,
Zala Jenko Pražnikar
2,
Saša Kenig
2,
Félix Tomi
3,
Marc Gibernau
3,
Slavko Brana
4 and
Alenka Baruca Arbeiter
1,*
1
Faculty of Mathematics, Natural Sciences and Information Technologies, University of Primorska, Glagoljaška 8, 6000 Koper, Slovenia
2
Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Primorska, Polje 42, 6310 Izola, Slovenia
3
Laboratoire Sciences Pour L’Environnement, Université de Corse-CNRS, UMR 6134 SPE, Route des Sanguinaires, 20000 Ajaccio, France
4
Istrian Botanical Society, Trgovačka 45, 52215 Vodnjan, Croatia
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Plants 2025, 14(24), 3794; https://doi.org/10.3390/plants14243794
Submission received: 24 October 2025 / Revised: 22 November 2025 / Accepted: 8 December 2025 / Published: 12 December 2025
(This article belongs to the Section Plant Genetics, Genomics and Biotechnology)
Versions Notes

Abstract

Helichrysum italicum (Roth) G. Don (Asteraceae) is a valuable medicinal and aromatic plant native to a variety of habitats across the Mediterranean region. However, genetic studies of this morphologically diverse species have been limited by the scarcity of species-specific DNA markers. To address this limitation, we generated the first de novo transcriptome assembly comprising 24,806 transcripts from young shoots containing leaves and flowers, developed EST-SSR markers, and evaluated their utility in population genetic analysis. Seventy-eight primer pairs were designed, of which 23 showed successful amplification, polymorphism, and transferability to H. arenarium and H. litoreum. A subset of 12 EST-SSRs was used to genotype 270 individuals from 12 natural populations of H. italicum in Corsica (France), along with one outgroup population from Croatia. The polymorphic information content ranged from 0.250 to 0.796, and Shannon’s information index ranged from 0.588 to 1.843, indicating the markers’ suitability for population genetic studies. Analysis of molecular variance revealed that 15% of the total genetic variation was attributable to differences among populations. Discriminant analysis of principal components and Bayesian clustering in STRUCTURE identified distinct population clusters corresponding to geographic locations. Notably, the southernmost coastal populations were clearly differentiated from the others.
Keywords: Helichrysum italicum; immortelle; de novo transcriptome; genic microsatellite markers; EST-SSRs; population study; Corsica; Mediterranean Basin Helichrysum italicum; immortelle; de novo transcriptome; genic microsatellite markers; EST-SSRs; population study; Corsica; Mediterranean Basin

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MDPI and ACS Style

Gabrovšek, P.; Hladnik, M.; Bandelj, D.; Jenko Pražnikar, Z.; Kenig, S.; Tomi, F.; Gibernau, M.; Brana, S.; Arbeiter, A.B. First EST-SSRs of Helichrysum italicum (Roth) G. Don (Asteraceae) Revealed Insights into the Genetic Diversity and Population Structure in Corsica. Plants 2025, 14, 3794. https://doi.org/10.3390/plants14243794

AMA Style

Gabrovšek P, Hladnik M, Bandelj D, Jenko Pražnikar Z, Kenig S, Tomi F, Gibernau M, Brana S, Arbeiter AB. First EST-SSRs of Helichrysum italicum (Roth) G. Don (Asteraceae) Revealed Insights into the Genetic Diversity and Population Structure in Corsica. Plants. 2025; 14(24):3794. https://doi.org/10.3390/plants14243794

Chicago/Turabian Style

Gabrovšek, Petra, Matjaž Hladnik, Dunja Bandelj, Zala Jenko Pražnikar, Saša Kenig, Félix Tomi, Marc Gibernau, Slavko Brana, and Alenka Baruca Arbeiter. 2025. "First EST-SSRs of Helichrysum italicum (Roth) G. Don (Asteraceae) Revealed Insights into the Genetic Diversity and Population Structure in Corsica" Plants 14, no. 24: 3794. https://doi.org/10.3390/plants14243794

APA Style

Gabrovšek, P., Hladnik, M., Bandelj, D., Jenko Pražnikar, Z., Kenig, S., Tomi, F., Gibernau, M., Brana, S., & Arbeiter, A. B. (2025). First EST-SSRs of Helichrysum italicum (Roth) G. Don (Asteraceae) Revealed Insights into the Genetic Diversity and Population Structure in Corsica. Plants, 14(24), 3794. https://doi.org/10.3390/plants14243794

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