Genomic diversity guides conservation strategies among rare terrestrial orchid species when taxonomy remains uncertain.
Species are often used as the unit for conservation, but may not be suitable for species complexes where taxa are difficult to distinguish. Under such circumstances, it may be more appropriate to consider species groups or populations as evolutionarily significant units (ESUs). A population genomic approach was employed to investigate the diversity within and among closely related species to create a more robust, lineage-specific conservation strategy for a nationally endangered terrestrial orchid and its relatives from south-eastern Australia.



Four putative species were sampled from a total of 16 populations in the Victorian Volcanic Plain (VVP) bioregion and one population of a sub-alpine outgroup in south-eastern Australia. Morphological measurements were taken in situ along with leaf material for genotyping by sequencing (GBS) and microsatellite analyses.



Species could not be differentiated using morphological measurements. Microsatellite and GBS markers confirmed the outgroup as distinct, but only GBS markers provided resolution of population genetic structure. The nationally endangered Diuris basaltica was indistinguishable from two related species ( D. chryseopsis and D. behrii ), while the state-protected D. gregaria showed genomic differentiation.



Genomic diversity identified among the four Diuris species suggests that conservation of this taxonomically complex group will be best served by considering them as one ESU rather than separately aligned with species as currently recognized. This approach will maximize evolutionary potential among all species during increased isolation and environmental change. The methods used here can be applied generally to conserve evolutionary processes for groups where taxonomic uncertainty hinders the use of species as conservation units.
Royal Botanic Gardens Victoria, Science Division, Melbourne, Victoria 3004, Australia.|Hawkesbury Institute for the Environment, Western Sydney University, Locked Bag 1797, Penrith, NSW 2751, Australia.
Collin W
CW
Ahrens
Australian National University, Research School of Biology, Centre of Excellence in Plant Energy Biology, Canberra, ACT 0200, Australia.
Megan A
MA
Supple
Australian National University, Research School of Biology, Centre of Excellence in Plant Energy Biology, Canberra, ACT 0200, Australia.
Nicola C
NC
Aitken
Royal Botanic Gardens Victoria, Science Division, Melbourne, Victoria 3004, Australia.
David J
DJ
Cantrill
Australian National University, Research School of Biology, Centre of Excellence in Plant Energy Biology, Canberra, ACT 0200, Australia.
Justin O
JO
Borevitz
Royal Botanic Gardens Victoria, Science Division, Melbourne, Victoria 3004, Australia.
Elizabeth A
EA
James
D003247:Conservation of Natural Resources; D014644:Genetic Variation; D005828:Genetics, Population; D018745:Genome, Plant; D023281:Genomics; D005838:Genotype; D018895:Microsatellite Repeats; D029595:Orchidaceae / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics*; D013021:South Australia
Diuris; Orchidaceae; genotyping by sequencing (GBS); microsatellite markers; next-generation sequencing; population genomics