Abstract
Research studies on conservative genetics of endangered plants are very important to establish the management plans for the conservation of biodiversity. Rosewood is an evergreen tree of the Amazon region and its essential oil has great acceptance in the medical and cosmetic industry. The present study aimed to explore the genetic diversity and population structure of 90 rosewood accessions collected from eight localities of Peruvian Amazon territory through DArTseq markers. A total of 7485 informative markers resulted from genotyping by sequencing (GBS) analysis were used for the molecular characterization of rosewood germplasm. Mean values of various calculated diversity parameters like observed number of alleles (1.962), the effective number of alleles (1.669), unbiased expected heterozygosity (0.411), and percent polymorphism (93.51%) over the entire germplasm showed the existence of a good level of genetic variations. Our results showed that the Mairiricay population was more diverse compared to the rest of the populations. Tamshiyacu-2 and Mairiricay-15 accessions were found genetically distinct accessions. The analysis of molecular variance (AMOVA) reflected maximum variations (75%) are due to differences within populations. The implemented clustering algorithms, i.e., STRUCTURE, neighbor-joining analysis and principal coordinate analysis (PCoA) separated the studied germplasm on the basis of their geographical locations. Diversity indices for STRUCTURE-based populations showed that subpopulation A is more diverse population than the rest of the populations, for such reason, individuals belonging to this subpopulation should be used for reintroduction or reinforcement plans of rosewood conservation. We envisage that molecular characterization of Peruvian rosewood germplasm with DArTseq markers will provide a platform for the conservation, management and restoration of endangered rosewood in upcoming years.
Highlights
The world’s flora and fauna are currently facing a huge loss of habitat which has reulted in the depletion of a number of populations, some leading to extinction [1]
There is a scarcity of information about the characterization of Peruvian rosewood germplasm using genotyping by sequencing (GBS)-derived DArTseq markers
An effort was made through this study to explore the genetic diversity and population structure of Peruvian rosewood germplasm through DArTseq markers
Summary
The world’s flora and fauna are currently facing a huge loss of habitat which has reulted in the depletion of a number of populations, some leading to extinction [1]. The conservation of plant species has not received the required attention as compared to animals [2]. According to the information shared by the first global analysis of extinction risk in 2010, 25% of the world’s plant species are critically endangered [3]. Endangered species are known to have small or declining populations that experience the effects of inbreeding and genetic erosion resulting in high extinction risks [4]. The conservation genetic studies are considered vital for the preservation perspective of endangered species [5]. Previous research efforts have confirmed that both anthropogenic activities and climatic changes are becoming stronger than before, and are resulting in habitat fragmentation and/or population decline for a good number of endangered species [6,7]
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