Conservation Significance of the Rare and Endangered Tree Species, <i>Trigonobalanus doichangensis</i> (Fagaceae)
Ling Hu,
Xin-Gui Le,
Shi-Shun Zhou,
Can-Yu Zhang,
Yun-Hong Tan,
Qiang Ren,
Hong-Hu Meng,
Yupeng Cun,
Jie Li
Affiliations
Ling Hu
Plant Phylogenetics and Conservation Group, Center for Integrative Conservation, Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming 650223, China
Xin-Gui Le
Yangjifeng National Nature Reserve of Jiangxi Province, Guixi 335400, China
Shi-Shun Zhou
Southeast Asia Biodiversity Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Naypyidaw 05282, Myanmar
Can-Yu Zhang
Yunnan Normal University, Kunming 650500, China
Yun-Hong Tan
Southeast Asia Biodiversity Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Naypyidaw 05282, Myanmar
Qiang Ren
Plant Phylogenetics and Conservation Group, Center for Integrative Conservation, Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming 650223, China
Hong-Hu Meng
Plant Phylogenetics and Conservation Group, Center for Integrative Conservation, Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming 650223, China
Yupeng Cun
Pediatric Research Institute, Ministry of Education Key Laboratory of Child Development and Disorders, National Clinical Research Center for Child Health and Disorders, China International Science and Technology Cooperation Base of Child Development and Critical Disorders, Chongqing Key Laboratory of Translational Medical Research in Cognitive Development and Learning and Memory Disorders, Children’s Hospital of Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing 400014, China
Jie Li
Plant Phylogenetics and Conservation Group, Center for Integrative Conservation, Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming 650223, China
Trigonobalanus doichangensis is a rare and endangered species with important evolutionary value and extremely small populations. We investigated the genetic diversity of T. doichangensis to provide information on its effective preservation. We used genotyping-by-sequencing (GBS) technology to assess the genetic diversity, genetic structure and gene flow of the six populations of T. doichangensis. Analysis of SNPs indicated that there was high genetic diversity in the ML and XSBN populations of T. doichangensis. FST values showed moderate genetic differentiation among the populations of T. doichangensis. Meanwhile, admixture, principal components and gene flow analyses indicated that the populations of T. doichangensis are not genetically separated in accordance with their geographical distributions. Habitat destruction and excessive exploitation may have led to a low gene flow, which has in turn resulted in the differences in seed and seedling morphological traits among populations. Based on these findings, we recommend that T. doichangensis be conserved through in situ approaches and artificial seedlings, including preservation of each extant population. Particularly, the ML and XSBN populations have high diversity and more ancestral information, so these two populations should be considered as conservation priorities, and seeds should be collected to obtain germplasm and increase the genetic diversity.
