GENETIC DIVERSITY OF Hymenaea courbaril L. IN THE MATO GROSSO AMAZON: IMPLICATIONS FOR CONSERVATION

Vinicius Delgado Da Rocha,Kelli Évelin Müller Zortéa,Elisa Dos Santos Cardoso,Rosimeire Barboza Bispo,Ana Aparecida Bandini Rossi,Eliane Cristina Moreno De Pedri

doi:10.5380/rf.v49i4.58484

Vinicius Delgado Da Rocha, Kelli Évelin Müller Zortéa + Show 4 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.5380/rf.v49i4.58484

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Abstract

Hymenaea courbaril L. (Fabaceae) is a tree species popularly known as 'jatoba'. Its wood is largely sold and its fruits are used as a food and medicinal resources. This species has been subjected to logging and habitat destruction. The knowledge about genetic polymorphism is important for the conservation of species affected by anthropic action. In this study, we analyzed the genetic diversity of natural populations of Hymenaea courbaril in the Mato Grosso Amazon. Seven microsatellite primers were used to genotyping of 43 individuals distributed in five populations in the north region of Mato Grosso State. All the seven primers were polymorphic, with 72 alleles detected, averaging 10.29 per locus. Expected and observed heterozygosities averaged 0.85 and 0.29 per locus, respectively. The fixation index was positive for all populations, suggesting excess homozygotes, probably due to inbreeding. Molecular analysis of variance revealed that 85.33% of genetic diversity is within the populations. Based on the UPGMA dendrogram, the individuals were divided into six groups. In the clustering provided by Structure software, four groups were formed which did not correspond to the geographic distribution of the individuals, indicating that the populations are not geographically structured. All sampled populations present elevated levels of genetic diversity, and so they can be used for conservation projects. Genetic variation is higher within the analyzed populations; therefore, several individuals must be conserved per population.

Highlights

The conservation of biodiversity has been one of the main concerns of humanity because of its important implications in the evolution and maintenance of ecological systems
The objective of our study was to answer following two questions: (1) what is level of genetic diversity and genetic structure of these population of H. courbaril? (2)What are implications of these findings for the conservation of genetic resources of the species? Our hypothesis was that the fragmentation process and the forest exploitation promote the restriction of gene flow, increasing the levels of inbreeding and reducing the genetic variability in the natural populations of H. courbaril
By comparing the results obtained for expected heterozygosity with the studies of Lacerda et al (2008a) and Silva et al (2014) on genetic diversity in H. courbaril in the Amazon using microsatellite markers, we observe that the present findings are in line the standards for the species

Summary

Introduction

The conservation of biodiversity has been one of the main concerns of humanity because of its important implications in the evolution and maintenance of ecological systems. Knowing how genes are distributed in individuals provides useful information for the planning of adequate strategies aimed at the conservation of species of ecological and economic interest (BITTENCOURT, 2007; GONÇALVES et al, 2010). In this regard, several molecular techniques are currently available to detect and analyze the distribution pattern of genetic variability in populations or individuals. Molecular markers have been efficient in many studies with plant species, making it possible to quantify the levels of genetic diversity and understand the gene structure. Populations with high genetic diversity and important for conservation can be identified (COTA et al, 2017; SILVA et al, 2017)

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