Abstract
Genetic variations in Anastatica hierochuntica populations in Libya, Egypt and Saudi Arabia were investigated among and within multigenerational population cohort's levels. Considering population demography within-population cohorts, the greatest number of individuals was recruited in the mid-season cohort that received intermediate amount of rainfall compared to the early-season and the late-season population cohorts. Individuals of A. hierochuntica belonging to the same population cohort showed that spatial pattern varied between clumped and random distribution, with minimum separation distance not exceeding 10 cm. The spatial pattern within-population cohorts showed decreased overdispersion from the early-season toward the late-season individuals. Considering the spatial relationships between the within-population cohorts, the spatial relationships between early-season and mid-season, and mid-season and late-season cohorts varied between segregation and random distributions. The gene diversity and the number of recruited individuals were found to be not correlated with the amount of rainfall in the study regions. Nei's genetic identity and distance varied among sites and population cohort groups. The overall genetic diversity was lower in the mid-season cohort group than in the early- and late-season cohorts. The variations of genetic characters and spatial patterns among and within-population cohorts of A. hierochuntica are regulated by recruitment of individuals from persistent seed output produced from overlapping generations.