Ferula ovina Boiss is one of the most valuable forage, protective and medicinal plants that can be used for restoration of mountain ranges. F.ovina is an herbaceous perennial herb. Assessing the genetic diversity within a species plays an important role in the success of the conservation programs. Worldwide, plant gene banks play an important role in preserving vegetation and their constituent species, and ultimately protecting natural ecosystems through the collection, conservation, regeneration and replenishment of plant reproductive resources. Accordingly, if the populations of F.ovina are genetically distinct, a distinct and superior population can be introduced to restore degraded habitats. Inthis study, the genetic variation of the F. ovina was studied using an Internal Transcribed Spacer (ITS) gene by sampling five rangeland sites including Tang-e-Dozdan, Ghaleh-e-Gho, Gohar-Dare, Islamabad and Khersanak, the most important habitats in western Isfahan province. Sampling form stems and leaves of F.ovina was performed, and afterextraction of DNA, Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) was performed using a pair of N-nc18S10 and C26A primers for amplifications of the ITS region, and PCR products were sequenced. The sequences were edited and analyzed using Seqscape v.2.6 and MEGA.7 softwares. The results of genetic diversity analyses showed that the nucleotide diversity and haplotype diversity of the studied populations were low at the level of ITS gene and were 0.0006 and 0.163 respectively. Phylogenetic reconstructions of the studied populations based on Euclidean intervals indicated that there were three haplotypes in the specimens and divided in three clades. The highest genetic distance between the GO8 (from Gohar-Dare) and CH2 (from Chale-e-Gho) sample was with a value of 0.005, and in most of the samples, this distance was close to zero, indicating a genetic similarity between the samples. Generally, due to the similarity of the populations based on the ITS gene, it is recommended to use markers with higher mutation rates, such as microsatellite or AFLP, for further investigation of genetic diversity within these populations. Keywords : Mountain range, Ferula ovina , Western Isfahan province, ITS gene, Genetic variation
