Simulating the reproductive system of Hymenaea courbaril populations in the Amazon forest

Abstract

- In this study we used simulation of genetic parameters based on microsatellite data to investigate the reproductive system of three Hymenaea courbaril L. species populations. Different selfing, migration and clonal reproduction rates were tested using the Easypop software. The results suggest the presence of both sexual and clonal reproduction in these populations. The simulated populations showed gradual decrease of the genetic diversity due the low gene flow caused by fragmentation. Due to connectivity importance, it is suggested expanding the area and replacing the explored trees using high genetic diversity germplasm in order to minimize the negative effects of fragmentation.

Keywords

• Breeding systems
• Computational simulations
• Microsatellite markers