Genetic structure of colline and montane populations of an endangered plant species. (18th August 2015)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Maurice, Tiphaine; Matthies, Diethart; Muller, Serge; Colling, Guy
• Is Part Of: AoB plants. Volume 8(2016)
• Publication Date: 2015-08-18
• Subjects: AFLP -- altitude -- clonality -- conservation genetics -- fragmentation -- genome scan; Plants -- Periodicals; Botany -- Periodicals; 580.5
• DOI: 10.1093/aobpla/plw057
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 2041-2851

Abstract

Abstract : We found that populations of the threatened plant Arnica montana have conserved a considerable amount of genetic diversity, even when they have become fragmented. However, populations in the Vosges mountains differed strongly in their genetic makeup from populations at lower elevations. It has been suggested to reinforce lowland populations of rare plants with seeds from the uplands, but in view of our results this does not seem to be a good idea for A. montana. Because they are genetically different, plants from the mountains could be less able to cope with conditions in the lowlands than lowland plants. Abstract: Due to land-use intensification, lowland and colline populations of many plants of nutrient-poor grasslands have been strongly fragmented in the last decades, with potentially negative consequences for their genetic diversity and persistence. Populations in mountains might represent a genetic reservoir for grassland plants, because they have been less affected by land-use changes. We studied the genetic structure and diversity of colline and montane Vosges populations of the threatened perennial plant Arnica montana in western central Europe using AFLP markers. Our results indicate that in contrast to our expectation even strongly fragmented colline populations of A. montana have conserved a considerable amount of genetic diversity. However, mean seed mass increased with the proportion of polymorphic loci, suggesting inbreeding effects in low diversity populations. At a similar small geographical scale, there was a clear IBD pattern for the montane Vosges but not for the colline populations. However, there was a strong IBD-pattern for the colline populations at a large geographical scale suggesting that this pattern is a legacy of historical gene flow, as most of the colline populations are today strongly isolated from each other. Genetic differentiation between colline and montane Vosges populations was strong. Moreover, results of a genome scan study indicated differences in loci under selection, suggesting that plants from montane Vosges populations might be maladapted to conditions at colline sites. Our results suggest caution in using material from montane populations of rare plants for the reinforcement of small genetically depauperate lowland populations.