Genetic Structure and Eco-Geographical Differentiation of Wild Sheep Fescue (Festuca ovina L.) in Xinjiang, Northwest China.

Chenglin Zhang,Yan Peng,Xiao Ma,Wenda Zhao,Xiaopeng Yang,Yan Fan,Xinquan Zhang,Jianbo Zhang,Ming Sun,Linkai Huang,Wendan Wu

doi:10.3390/molecules22081316

Chenglin Zhang, Yan Peng + Show 9 more

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https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules22081316

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Abstract

Glaciation and mountain orogeny have generated new ecologic opportunities for plants, favoring an increase in the speciation rate. Moreover, they also act as corridors or barriers for plant lineages and populations. High genetic diversity ensures that species are able to survive and adapt. Gene flow is one of the most important determinants of the genetic diversity and structure of out-crossed species, and it is easily affected by biotic and abiotic factors. The aim of this study was to characterize the genetic diversity and structure of an alpine species, Festuca ovina L., in Xinjiang, China. A total of 100 individuals from 10 populations were analyzed using six amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP) primer pairs. A total of 583 clear bands were generated, of which 392 were polymorphic; thus, the percentage of polymorphic bands (PPB) was 67.24%. The total and average genetic diversities were 0.2722 and 0.2006 (0.1686–0.2225), respectively. The unweighted group method with arithmetic mean (UPGMA) tree, principal coordinates analysis (PCoA) and Structure analyses revealed that these populations or individuals could be clustered into two groups. The analysis of molecular variance analysis (AMOVA) suggested that most of the genetic variance existed within a population, and the genetic differentiation (Fst) among populations was 20.71%. The Shannon differentiation coefficient (G’st) among populations was 0.2350. Limited gene flow (Nm = 0.9571) was detected across all sampling sites. The Fst and Nm presented at different levels under the genetic barriers due to fragmentation. The population genetic diversity was significant relative to environmental factors such as temperature, altitude and precipitation.

Highlights

Glaciation and mountain orogeny are the main factors that shape landscapes and change climate, and they have been linked to recent diversification and speciation events [1,2]
The six selected amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP) primer pairs generated 583 clear bands that corresponded to an average of 97.17 per primer pair (Table 1)
Genetic diversity is considered the consequence of long-term evolution and represents the Genetic diversity is considered the consequence of long-term evolution and represents the evolutionary potential of a species to survive in various environments [13,41]

Summary

Introduction

Glaciation and mountain orogeny are the main factors that shape landscapes and change climate, and they have been linked to recent diversification and speciation events [1,2] They could create many different environments and microclimates, which provide new habitats for plants and trigger evolutionary processes [3]. Accumulating evidence suggests that historical glacial and orogenic movements, including some recent biotic activities, might cause habitat fragmentation, which seriously increases the vulnerability of many plant species and threatens their survival [4]. These factors could alter the abundance and behavior of pollinators and restrict seed dispersal [5,6]. Fitness, richness and adaptation ability of a population would be weakened, such changes could even cause the local extinction of demes within a meta-population [10,11]

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