Genetic diversity and relationships among wild and cultivated Stenocereus queretaroensis populations in western Mexico

• Published in: Biochemical systematics and ecology 2014-08, Vol.55, p.125-130
• Main Authors: Ruán-Tejeda, Irma, Santerre, Anne, Huerta-Martínez, Francisco Martín, Iñiguez-Dávalos, Luis Ignacio, Castro-Félix, Patricia
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Columnar cacti; Domestication; Genetic diversity; Genetic relationships; ISSR; Stenocereus queretaroensis
• ISSN: 0305-1978; 1873-2925
• DOI: 10.1016/j.bse.2014.03.005

Stenocereus queretaroensis is an endemic, chiropterophilous, columnar cactus of economic importance in Mexico. To investigate the effect of artificial selection on genetic diversity, inter-simple sequence repeat (ISSR) markers were used to estimate the genetic variation of wild, orchard, and backyard populations of S. queretaroensis from two regions in western Mexico. Six primers were used to generate 62 bands, of which 39 were polymorphic (62.9%). The total genetic diversity was similar in the wild (HT = 0.296) and orchard (HT = 0.291) groups, and slightly lower in the backyard group (HT = 0.281). Wild populations (FST = 0.13) were less differentiated than backyard (FST = 0.17) and orchard (FST = 0.21) populations. The wild and backyard groups were genetically closer (0.015) than the wild and orchard (0.018) groups. A Mantel test revealed a positive correlation between genetic and geographic distances (r = 0.433, p = 0.002). In conclusion, gene flow and the prevailing management system have efficiently maintained genetic diversity and facilitated inter-population differentiation in S. queretaroensis. •Stenocerous queretaroensis genetic diversity assessed by ISSR markers.•Traditional management of pitayo has efficiently maintained genetic diversity.•High genetic differentiation among cultivated populations of S. queretaroensis.•Positive isolation by distance among populations of pitayo.•Wild pitayo is genetically closer to backyard than to orchard populations.