Abies is the second largest genus of family Pinaceae (after Pinus), consisting of about 51 species, all native to the Northern Hemisphere. There are six native taxa belonging to this genus growing in pure and mixed stands in Turkey. Abies cilicica subsp. isaurica, Abies nordmanniana subsp. bornm&uuml / lleriana, Abies nordmanniana subsp. equi-trojani, Abies x olcayana are endemic and considered as lower risk (LR) species. To determine the genetic relationships in Turkish firs, 18 populations of different subspecies of Abies were collected from different regions of Turkey and non-coding trn regions of chloroplast DNA were sequenced to assess the genetic structure of the studied species. trnL, trnF and trnV region were examined. All the trn regions of Abies species in the world (aproximately 300 species that found in the IPNI (The International Plant Names Index) were investigated in the database of NCBI. The available trn sequences of 23 Abies species worldwide included into the analyses. All analyses to estimate molecular diversity parameters were carried out with the MEGA software. The constructed phylogenetic tree with the trn sequences revealed that Turkish firs formed a monophyletic group with almost no sequence divergence. v Since sequence data for all three sectors of trn were not available from the NCBI data base, the phylogentic analysis with the sequence data of trnL regions were compartively analyzed in all firs. The results showed that Turkish- European species formed a single clade, which clearly differentiated them from the others, such as Japanese species, A. veitchii. Similarly, according to the sequence data of trnF, Turkish fir species were grouped together and distinctly separated from Asian-American Fir species. The results suggest that all Turkish firs may have evolved from single ancestral fir species, most likely from Abies nordmanniana.

Pineacea is the largest family of conifers that includes 51 species of Abies which is the second largest genus after Pinus. There are six native taxa in Turkey belonging to this genus. Four of these taxa (Abies cilicica subsp. isaurica, Abies nordmanniana subsp. bornm&uuml / lleriana, Abies nordmanniana subsp. equi-trojani, Abies x olcayana) are endemic and considered as low risk (LR) species according to the IUCN criteria. To determine the phylogenetic relationship in Abies spp. in Turkey, 18 populations of different taxa were collected from their natural distribution areas in Turkey. The matK gene regions of chloroplast DNA (cpDNA) were studied comparatively to reveal the genetic relationship among Turkish fir species. The available sequences from the NCBI database for the matK region of the other Abies species in the world were also investigated v comparatively with the sequences from Turkish firs. With the matK sequence data, a phylogenetic tree was constructed for the fir species and the molecular diversity parameters such as conserved and variable sites, nucleotide diversity, and evolutionary divergence were estimated using the MEGA software. The results indicated that there are no variable sites among Turkish firs with regard to matK regions of cpDNA. It appears that the matK region of cpDNA for Turkish firs is highly conserved. Since sequence data for all matK regions were not available from the NCBI data base, the phylogentic analysis with the sequence data of matK were comparatively analyzed in all firs including Turkish firs. According to matK1 region, the results showed that there were three major clades. One of the clades included all Turkish fir taxa and one species from European firs, A.numidica / however, A.holopylla, A.firma, A.veitchii, A.sachalinensis, A.nephrolepis, A.lasiocarpa, A.koreana, A.homolephis, A.fraseri, A.fargesii, A.sibirica and A.fabri formed in another clade. In addition to this, A.mariesii, A.hidalgensis, A.bracteata, A.alba formed in different major clade. According to matK1 region the results showed that Turkish firs and European firs are closer to each other. Furthermore, based on matK2 region, the results indicated that Turkish firs formed a monophyletic group.The other fir species, with respect to matK2 regions, formed different clades from Turkish firs. The results based on matK region suggest that all Turkish firs may have evolved from single ancestral fir species and the matK gene region appears to be highly conserved region in fir species.