Genetic diversity in endangered Notopterygium forbesii Boissieu based on intraspecies sequence variation of chloroplast DNA and implications for conservation

• Published in: Biochemical systematics and ecology 2010-10, Vol.38 (5), p.911-916
• Main Authors: Zhou, Guoying, Yang, Lucun, Li, Chunli, Xu, Wenhua, Chen, Guichen
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: cpDNA; Genetic diversity; Notopterygium forbesii; trnH- psbA
• ISSN: 0305-1978; 1873-2925
• DOI: 10.1016/j.bse.2010.09.012

A thorough understanding of the levels and partitioning of genetic variation across populations and geographical regions of endangered species is a prerequisite to ensure effective conservation and/or restoration activities. Here, we examined chloroplast DNA (cpDNA) trnH- psbA intergenic spacer sequences variation within Notopterygium forbesii, an endangered and endemic perennial herb in China. Sequence data obtained from 141 individuals in 14 populations revealed twenty-two haplotypes. A high level of haplotype diversity ( Hd = 0.81) and low level of nucleotide diversity ( Pi = 0.0047) were detected. Low genetic differentiation among populations and also among regions was consistently indicated by both hierarchical analyses of molecular variance (AMOVA) and the structure of a neighbor-joining tree. Low level of population differentiation between populations or between regions in cpDNA sequences may be due to effects of the abundance of ancestral haplotype sharing and the high number of private haplotypes fixed for each population. Based on our results, we proposed some conservation strategies. ►Chloroplast DNA sequences were used to study the genetic diversity and genetic structure of endangered plant, Notopterygium forbesii, while genetic diversity of many other endangered plants were studied using nuclear DNA markers, such as, ISSR, RAPD, AFLP. ►Many studies have demonstrated that endangered and endemic species tend to possess low levels of genetic diversity, whereas some others have shown opposite findings. In this study, we found that the value of haplotype diversity was high, and the level of nucleotide diversity was low. ►Low level of population differentiation between populations or between regions in cpDNA sequences may be due to effects of the abundance of ancestral haplotype sharing and the high number of private haplotypes fixed for each population.