title: Genetic variability and differentiation among populations of the Azorean endemic gymnosperm Juniperus brevifolia: baseline information for a conservation and restoration perspective.
abstract: The Azorean endemic gymnosperm Juniperus brevifolia (Seub.) Antoine is a top priority species for conservation in Macaronesia, based on its ecological significance in natural plant communities. To evaluate genetic variability and differentiation among J. brevifolia populations from the Azorean archipelago, we studied 15 ISSR and 15 RAPD markers in 178 individuals from 18 populations. The average number of polymorphic bands per population was 65 for both ISSR and RAPD. The majority of genetic variability was found within populations and among populations within islands, and this partitioning of variability was confirmed by AMOVA. The large majority of population pairwise F(ST) values were above 0.3 and below 0.6. The degree of population genetic differentiation in J. brevifolia was relatively high compared with other species, including Juniperus spp. The genetic differentiation among populations suggests that provenance should be considered when formulating augmentation or reintroduction strategies.
authors.affiliation: CIBIO, Centro de Investigação em Biodiversidade e Recursos Genéticos, Pólo Açores, Departamento de Biologia, Universidade dos Açores, Rua da Mãe de Deus, Apartado 1422, 9501-801, Ponta Delgada, Açores, Portugal. lsilva@uac.pt
authors.forename: Luís
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Silva
authors.forename: Rui B
authors.initials: RB
authors.lastname: Elias
authors.forename: Mónica
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Moura
authors.forename: Harald
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Meimberg
authors.forename: Eduardo
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Dias
mesh_terms: D003247:Conservation of Natural Resources; D018744:DNA, Plant / Q000235:genetics; D005819:Genetic Markers; D014644:Genetic Variation; D018653:Juniperus / Q000235:genetics*; D019105:Random Amplified Polymorphic DNA Technique
chemical_list: D018744:DNA, Plant; D005819:Genetic Markers