title: SSR-based identification of genetic groups within European populations of Tuber aestivum Vittad.
abstract: Tuber species are ectomycorrhizal ascomycetes establishing relationships with different host trees and forming hypogeous fruiting bodies known as truffles. Among Tuber species, Tuber aestivum Vittad. has a wide distributional range being found naturally all over Europe. Here, we performed large-scale population genetic analyses in T. aestivum to (i) investigate its genetic diversity at the European scale, (ii) characterize its genetic structure and test for the presence of ecotypes and (iii) shed light into its demographic history. To reach these goals, 230 ascocarps from different populations were genotyped using 15 polymorphic simple sequence repeat markers. We identified 181 multilocus genotypes and four genetic groups which did not show a clear geographical separation; although, one of them was present exclusively in Southeast France, Italy and Spain. Fixation index values between pairs of genetic groups were generally high and ranged from 0.29 to 0.45. A significant deficit of heterozygosity indicated a population expansion instead of a recent population bottleneck, suggesting that T. aestivum is not endangered in Europe, not even in Mediterranean regions. Our study based on a large-scale population genetic analysis suggests that genetically distinct populations and likely ecotypes within T. aestivum are present. In turn, this study paves the way to future investigations aimed at addressing the biological and/or ecological factors that have concurred in shaping the population genetic structure of this species. Present results should also have implications for the truffle market since defining genetic markers are now possible at least for some specific T. aestivum genetic groups.
authors.affiliation: Swiss Federal Institute for Forest Snow and Landscape Research (WSL), 8903, Birmensdorf, Switzerland. molinier.virginie@gmail.com.|UMR Agroécologie INRA, Agrosup, u. Bourgogne, Pôle Interactions Plantes Microorganismes ERL 6300 CNRS, BP 86510, Université de Bourgogne, 21065 Cedex, Dijon, France. molinier.virginie@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Virginie
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Molinier
authors.affiliation: UMR1136 Interactions Arbres-Microorganismes, Université de Lorraine, F-54500, Vandoeuvre-lès-Nancy, France.|INRA, UMR1136 Interactions Arbres-Microorganismes, F-54280, Champenoux, France.
authors.forename: Claude
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Murat
authors.affiliation: Swiss Federal Institute for Forest Snow and Landscape Research (WSL), 8903, Birmensdorf, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Martina
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Peter
authors.affiliation: Inoplant, Agronov, RD31, 21110, Bretenière, France.
authors.forename: Armelle
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Gollotte
authors.affiliation: UMR1136 Interactions Arbres-Microorganismes, Université de Lorraine, F-54500, Vandoeuvre-lès-Nancy, France.|INRA, UMR1136 Interactions Arbres-Microorganismes, F-54280, Champenoux, France.
authors.forename: Herminia
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: De la Varga
authors.affiliation: Swiss Federal Institute for Forest Snow and Landscape Research (WSL), 8903, Birmensdorf, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Barbara
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Meier
authors.affiliation: Swiss Federal Institute for Forest Snow and Landscape Research (WSL), 8903, Birmensdorf, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Simon
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Egli
authors.affiliation: National Research Council, Institute of Biosciences and BioResources-Perugia (CNR-IBBR), 06128, Perugia, Italy.
authors.forename: Beatrice
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Belfiori
authors.affiliation: National Research Council, Institute of Biosciences and BioResources-Perugia (CNR-IBBR), 06128, Perugia, Italy.
authors.forename: Francesco
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Paolocci
authors.affiliation: UMR Agroécologie INRA, Agrosup, u. Bourgogne, Pôle Interactions Plantes Microorganismes ERL 6300 CNRS, BP 86510, Université de Bourgogne, 21065 Cedex, Dijon, France.
authors.forename: Daniel
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Wipf
mesh_terms: D001203:Ascomycota / Q000145:classification* / Q000235:genetics* / Q000302:isolation & purification; D005060:Europe; D014644:Genetic Variation; D060005:Genotyping Techniques; D016533:Mycological Typing Techniques; D038821:Mycorrhizae / Q000145:classification* / Q000235:genetics* / Q000302:isolation & purification; D012091:Repetitive Sequences, Nucleic Acid
keywords: Europe; Microsatellites markers; Population genetics; Tuber aestivum