SUMMARY
The Carpathian List of Endangered Species contains eight Astragalus species mentioned to be vulnerable or endangered. One of them is the endemic Astragalus. exscapus L. subsp. transsilvanicus (Schur) Nyár., a rare perennial plant with only 24 populations remaining in the Transylvanian basin. Analysis of genetic diversity and population structure of this threatened subspecies is an important prerequisite for its conservation. The present study investigates eight different populations of A. exscapus using sequence related amplified polymorphism (SRAP) molecular markers. This technique is a relatively new PCR-based system, more reliable than random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD), and suitable for population structure analysis. This essay reports the screening of 64 SRAP primer combinations on 3 or 4 samples from every population with the intent of selecting the most reliable ones for subsequent analysis. PCR amplification products were assessed on 2% agarose gel and a total number of 1473 DNA fragments were visualized by EtBr staining. We selected fourteen primer combinations for further research based on clarity, reproducibility of amplified bands and high rates of polymorphism. The most efficient primer combination was Me8/Em3 which generated 42 visible DNA fragments. Â