Plant Conservation Practitioners Can Benefit from Neutral Genetic Diversity

Mi Yoon Chung,Kangshan Mao,Sungwon Son,Jordi López-Pujol,Myong Gi Chung

doi:10.3390/d13110552

Abstract

Several papers deal with a conservation genetics gap in which plant conservation and restoration managers or practitioners do not soundly integrate population genetics information into conservation management. Authors concerned about this issue point out that practitioners perceive genetic research results to be impractical or unnecessary in the short term due to time and financial constraints. In addition, researchers often fail to translate research findings into comprehensive, jargon-free recommendations effectively. If possible, conservation-related or conservation-oriented articles should be easily written to bridge the research–implementation gap. Finally, based on a previously published prioritization framework for conservation genetics scenarios, we introduce four simple genetic categories by exemplifying each case. We hope that conservation practitioners could employ these suggested guidelines for the prioritization of population- and species-level management.

Highlights

Neutral genetic variation surveys that use neutral genetic markers (e.g., allozymes, RAPDs, AFLPs, ISSRs, microsatellites or SSRs or STRs, and more recently, neutral single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs)) are cheaper and take much less time than adaptive genetic variation
To make conservation practitioners employ population genetics information in conservation practice, we propose a series of simplified and expected scenarios according to levels of neutral genetic parameters, providing examples in detail
Thanks to the large body of plant allozyme literature, researchers have demonstrated that a series of life history and ecological traits account for considerable variance in withinand among-population genetic diversity [44,45,46]

Summary

Introduction

Neutral genetic variation (hereafter, NGV) surveys that use neutral (or nearly neutral) genetic markers Despite the fact that restoration efforts will not always be entirely successful, conservation researchers, managers, and practitioners should keep in mind that knowledge of the NGV of target species, if the information of AGV is unavailable, is one of the most important traits that positively influence plant reintroduction outcomes [26]. The total absence of data on species’ genetic variation has often condemned the actions of restoration to failure, e.g., the failed reintroduction attempts of Lysimachia minoricensis on Minorca Island, Spain, probably occurred because the seeds that were used came from a single collection and lacked genetic variability [42] This stresses the importance of assessing overall, genome-wide genetic diversity for rare and endangered plant species [43].

Expected Scenarios According to Levels of Neutral Genetic Parameters

Findings

Conclusions