Genetic diversity and population structure of the endemic Azorean juniper, Juniperus brevifolia (Seub.) Antoine, inferred from SSRs and ISSR markers

Publication date: April 2015 Source:Biochemical Systematics and Ecology, Volume 59 Author(s): Sílvia Xavier Bettencourt , Duarte Mendonça , Maria Susana Lopes , Sara Rocha , Paulo Monjardino , Lisandra Monteiro , Artur da Câmara Machado Juniperus brevifolia is an important woody species endemic of the Azores archipelago (Portugal), found from coastal to mountain environments. Due to colonization and grazing pressure this species has suffered fragmentation, leading to extinction in one island and being threatened in others. The genetic diversity and population structure of J. brevifolia populations was studied to provide guidelines for restoration and conservation programmes. Nuclear Single Sequence Repeats (nSSR) from Juniperus communis and Juniperus przewalskii and Inter Simple Sequence Repeats (ISSR) were tested and results compared to test the transferability of the microsatellites to J. brevifolia. Samples from ten populations over three islands, divided as coastal, mid-altitude and mountain were analysed. Both marker systems revealed results statistically and strongly correlated with each other, and not dependent on population sample size. We observed positive fixation indexes, moderate to high levels of genetic diversity (h = 0.415 for nSSR and h = 0.245 for ISSR), low to moderate φpt genetic differentiation (0.070 for nSSR and 0.129 for ISSR) and high gene flow (Nm > 2.432). Regarding Nei's genetic distance the coastal communities clustered...
Source: Biochemical Systematics and Ecology - Category: Biochemistry Source Type: research