Genetic structure of the American ginseng (Panax quinquefoliusL.) in Eastern Canada using reduced-representation high-throughput sequencing

Abstract

The American ginseng (Panax quinquefolius L.) has been used for a wide range of medicinal purposes for more than 300 years, and is at risk in most of its range because of harvesting in natural populations, herbivory, and habitat loss. Its genetic structure is largely unknown in the previously glaciated areas of Eastern Canada, although such information could provide useful information for restoration strategies. We generated and analysed data from a reduced-representation high-throughput sequencing approach with a BAMOVA population model to partition the genetic variation within and among six natural populations of American ginseng in Eastern Canada. We found that an important and significant fraction of the genetic variation was structured among populations ([Formula: see text] = 42%; FST= 34%) at the geographical scale of the study (<250 km). No clear evidence of isolation-by-distance was observed. This important genetic structure observed among American ginseng populations from a region that was covered by ice during the last glaciations is similar to what had been found in previous studies on southern populations or throughout the species range.