MOLECULAR MARKERS: AN INTRICATE TOOL FOR NEW INSIGHTS IN MANGROVE GENETICS

ABSTRACT: Molecular phylogenetics has become an imperative tool for genetic studies and has enticed considerable scientific attention during the last few decades. Mangroves are the characteristic complex plant communities of tropical and sub-tropical sheltered coastlines which have been the subject of taxonomic, floristic, physiological, and ecological studies. Undeniably, to investigate population structure and phylogenetic relationships molecular techniques have been extensively applied to mangroves and these techniques has paved opportunities to take mangrove research in new directions and to address vague issues in mangrove studies. But the availability of plethora of molecular markers, allozymes or DNA (mitochondrial DNA or nuclear DNA such as microsatellites or RAPDs/RFLPs/AFLPs) and the phylogenetic software leads many geneticists in dilemma to select the most appropriate marker or software for their respective study. In this review we present how the phylogenetic studies have provided new insights into population genetics, conservation issues and molecular taxonomy in different mangrove taxa by the use of molecular techniques. Moreover an outline on the most commonly used molecular markers are also presented with a critical review on the application, advantages, and limitations of major classes of these markers in mangrove research