## 5 Conclusions  
The present study indicates that there is a significant distribution of chicory along the length and breadth of the Kashmir region. The present study found that the variation in the altitude, growing conditions, and edaphic factors has significantly affected the phytochemical and genetic diversity of chicory collected from diverse agro-ecological sites. Metabolomics profiling exhibited a significant correlation between altitudinal ranges and geographical origin with phytoconstituents, suggesting an effect on metabolite biosynthesis. In the present study, significant genetic diversity was also observed among the chicory accessions, especially those collected from the Budgam, Ganderbal, and Pulwama districts of the Kashmir region. Moreover, a significant level of diversity exists both within and among the groups of chicory accessions as revealed by AMOVA. This study also suggests that the use of ISSR markers is very effective in unraveling the genetic variation in the germplasm of chicory. These results are further supported by the PCoA plot and UPGMA hierarchical clustering, which revealed significant variation among the accessions. Therefore, the present information could act as a repository for taxonomists to localize the area for germplasm collection and diversity analysis for the effective management of the genetic resources of the species and their utilization in various breeding programs. As this study represents the first approach to obtain a preliminary understanding of the genetic diversity of chicory, future studies should include more accessions from diverse geographical regions of the country.  
The following are available online at [[https://www.mdpi.com/article/10.3390/app122312061/s1](https://www.mdpi.com/article/10.3390/app122312061/s1)]([https://www.mdpi.com/article/10.3390/app122312061/s1](https://www.mdpi.com/article/10.3390/app122312061/s1)): Figure S1: Eight major metabolites present at all altitudes and localities identified by GC-MS analysis in _C. intylus_ L. (chicory); Figure S2: Structures of major metabolites identified in _C. intylus_ L. (chicory); Figure S3: Hierarchical cluster analysis of metabolites in chicory collected at seven different altitudes; Figure S4: Multivariate data analysis obtained using MetaboAnalyst software 4.0. Variable importance in projection (VIP) plot demonstrating (A) metabolites with maximum change at higher altitude (2172 m), (B) loadings, and (C) score plots of PCA analysis indicating a correlation between different metabolites subjected to different altitudinal variations; Figure S5: ISSR (UBC841 and UBC842) amplification profile of 50 accessions of _C. intylus_ L. M = marker (100 bp); 1-12 = CIN-BD; 13-17 = CIN-BM; 18-22 = CIN-AN; 23-28 = CIN-SR; 29-36 = CIN-GA; 37-44 = CIN-PU and 45-50 = CIN-BU; Table S1: Passport data of different accessions of _C. intylus_ collected from the Kashmir region.  
[PERSON] conceptualization, designed research work and conducted the experiments; [PERSON], [PERSON] and [PERSON] analyzed the data and wrote the manuscript; [PERSON], [PERSON], [PERSON], [PERSON] and [PERSON] reviewed and edited the manuscript and approved the final version of the manuscript. All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.  
This research was supported and funded by the Department of Science and Technology (DST), Government of India vide reference no.: SR/WOS-A/LS-1278/2015 under Women Scientist Scheme (WOS-A) to carry out this work.  
Not applicable.  
The corresponding authors are thankful to the Department of Science & Technology (DST), Govt. of India for providing financial assistance under the Women Scientist Scheme (WOS-A) in conducting this research.