Genetic variation in five Mediterranean populations of Juniperus phoenicea as revealed by inter-simple sequence repeat (ISSR) markers.
OBJECTIVE
The assessment of the genetic variability and the identification of isolated populations within a given species represent important information to plan conservation strategies on a genetic basis. In this work, the genetic variability in five natural populations of Juniperus phoenicea, three from Sardinia, one from Cyprus and the last one in the Maritime Alps was analysed by means of ISSRs, on the hypothesis that the latter could have been a refugial one during the last glaciation.


METHODS
ISSRs were chosen because of their ability to detect variation without any prior sequence information. The use of three primers yielded 45 reproducible, polymorphic bands, which were utilized to estimate the basic parameters of genetic variability and diversity.


RESULTS
All of the populations analysed harboured an adequate amount of genetic variability, with H(S) = 0.1299. The proportion of genetic diversity between populations has been estimated by G(ST) = 0.12. The three Sardinian populations are separated, as tested by AMOVA, from the Cyprus and the continental ones.


CONCLUSIONS
The results indicate that geographical isolation has represented a major barrier to gene flow in Juniperus phoenicea. This work represents a first step towards a full genetic characterization of a conifer from the Mediterranean, a world biodiversity hotspot confronted with climate change, and thus contributes towards the planning of genetics-informed conservation strategies.
Meloni
Marilena
M
Dipartimento di Biotecnologie e Scienze Molecolari, Università degli Studi dell'Insubria, via J.H. Dunant 3, 21100 Varese, Italy.
Perini
Davide
D
Filigheddu
Rossella
R
Binelli
Giorgio
G
D044822:Biodiversity; D005819:Genetic Markers; D014644:Genetic Variation; D005838:Genotype; D005843:Geography; D018653:Juniperus / Q000235:genetics*; D019083:Mediterranean Region; D018598:Minisatellite Repeats / Q000235:genetics*; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA
D005819:Genetic Markers