Abstract: The genetic diversities and genetic structures of 8 Rhodoleia championii wild populations were evaluated using ISSR markers. The results showed that R.championii had higher genetic diversity at both species level (percentage of polymorphic bands (PPB)=94.86%, Shannon’s phenotypic diversity index (H₀)=0.343 8) and population level (PPB=73.07%, H₀=0.267 3). The analysis of molecular variance (AMOVA) showed that genetic differentiation among and within populations was all found to be remarkably high, and 29.71% of genetic variation existed among populations. The Mantel test showed that the geographic and genetic distances were not significantly correlated to each other.

Key words: Rhodoleia championii, ISSR, genetic diversity, genetic structure