Black cumin is one of the plants used in medicine and has been used for many years to preserve food and to enhance flavor. The aim of this study was to assess the genetic diversity of black cumin populations collected from Türkiye, and to compare the data with two genotypes (N. elata and N. damescana) chosen as an outgroup using the inter simple sequence repeat (ISSR) markers. The plants material used the study from N. sativa was supplied from the growers seven different provinces in Türkiye; in additions used Çameli variety. The study was done using 3 plants for each accession and used 10 ISSR primers. The DNA extraction was done by using Wizbiosolution (W71650) extraction kits according to its protocol. By the end of the study a total of 107 bands were obtained, 88 of them found to be polymorphic. The distance matrix of the N. sativa populations varied between 0.012 and 0.136. The distance matrix of the N. sativa and N. elata varied between 0.625 and 0.705. The distance matrix of the N. sativa and N. damescana varied between 0.722 and 0.826. The genetic distance matrix between N. elata and N. damescana populations was determined to be 0.468. The results of AMOVA test N. elata and N. damescana genotypes used as outgroups in the research were clearly separated from the UPGMA tree, and N. sativa populations formed a separate group. N. sativa populations also formed 2 separate subgroups. The research results showed that ISSR primers can easily be used for molecular characterizations in Nigella species.
Hüseyin Uysal (2026) studied this question.