ABSTRACT
Background:
The objective of this study is to characterize the diversity and genetic structure of A. colubrina in three Atlantic Forest fragments in the south of Espírito Santo state, using Inter Simple Sequence Repeats (ISSR) molecular markers. Genomic DNA from 85 trees was analyzed using 12 ISSR primers, generating 147 fragments, of which 109 were polymorphic (74%). Markers were characterized as moderately informative, with a mean polymorphic informational content of 0.34.
Results:
Low genetic diversity was found for the three fragments and in the total sample, based on Nei’s diversity parameters (H* = 0.26) and Shannon’s index (I* = 0.38). In the dissimilarity analysis, four groups were observed in the dendrogram with an exclusive clustering trend by location. The analysis of molecular variance confirmed that most of the genetic variation is found within populations (73.50%), however, with high genetic differentiation between them (Φ ST = 0.26). This result was supported by the Bayesian approach that indicated genetically structured populations.
Conclusion:
The data obtained reveal that forest fragmentation affected the diversity and genetic structure of A. colubrina and allow expanding knowledge for the development of effective strategies for the conservation and management of the species.
Keywords:
Genetic diversity; genetic structure; forest fragments; molecular markers; tree species.
HIGHLIGHTS
The ISSR markers were efficient in the genetic characterization of A. colubrina. Forest fragmentation affected the diversity and genetic structure of populations. The genetic sharing between areas 1 and 3 is possibly being produced by genetic drift. Effective strategies can be applied to conserve and manage populations of A. colubrina.
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