Abstract
The cosmopolitan genus Fraxinus comprises about 40 species occupying several habitats in the Northern Hemisphere. With some species hybridizing and sharing genetic variants, questions remain on the species assignment of germplasm within the genus Fraxinus despite numerous species-specific assessments. A multidisciplinary approach was employed to provide a definitive insight into the genetics of an endangered Fraxinus “manna ash” collection, located in a rich plant biodiversity hotspot of the Madonie Mountains (Sicily). Although the collection size was small, genetic diversity, assessed by chloroplast (cpSSR) and nuclear (nSSR) microsatellites (SSR—Simple Sequence Repeats), allowed identifying three different chloroplast haplotypes, with one (H5) dominant, and several polymorphic loci, able to discriminate most of the local accessions studied. Molecular data were linked to cytofluorimetric and phenotypic evaluations and, contrary to popular belief that manna ash is Fraxinus ornus L., the germplasm currently used for manna production belongs to Fraxinus angustifolia Vahl. Interestingly, joint analysis of our genetic panel with a large European dataset of Fraxinus spp. suggested the presence of a possible glacial refuge in Sicily, confirming its importance as biodiversity source. Our results will be helpful for the design of long-term conservation programs for genetic resources, such as in situ and ex situ conservation, seed collection and tree reintroduction.
Highlights
The genus Fraxinus (Oleaceae) comprises 45–65 tree species and is represented across large areas of Europe, Asia and North America [1,2]
Broad variability in several phenotypic traits related to leaf morphology, inflorescence and infructescence features were observed among the different local varieties belonging to the Sicilian manna ash germplasm collection (Table S1)
Using a multidisciplinary approach, including molecular analysis, we we demonstrated in this study that an important and residual manna ash germplasm collection demonstrated in this study that an important and residual manna ash germplasm collection located located in theMountains
Summary
The genus Fraxinus (Oleaceae) comprises 45–65 tree species and is represented across large areas of Europe, Asia and North America [1,2]. In Europe, three ash species are present: the common ash, Fraxinus excelsior L., the flowering ash, Fraxinus ornus L., and the narrow-leaved ash, Fraxinus angustifolia Vahl [4]. F. excelsior, a polygamous species with male, female and hermaphrodite individuals, [5,6], is found throughout the continent except in the Mediterranean region, while F. ornus is androdiecious [3] and grows in relatively high. F. excelsior, shows hermaphrodite flowers and is very common around the Mediterranean basin and to the west of the Black Sea in the Danube basin. Three groups can be identified at subspecies level, structured by geographical regions [7,10]: F. angustifolia ssp. oxycarpa (Bieb. ex Willd.) Franco and Rocha Afonso observed in the in East Central and Southeastern Europe, including the Balkans;
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