Spatial genetic structure in Pinus cembroides Zucc. at population and landscape levels in central and northern Mexico

PeerJ

article

Luis C. García-Zubia¹  Javier Hernández-Velasco¹  José C. Hernández-Díaz¹  Sergio L. Simental-Rodríguez¹  Carlos A. López-Sánchez²  Carmen Z. Quiñones-Pérez³  Artemio Carrillo-Parra¹  Christian Wehenkel¹ 

[1] Instituto de Silvicultura e Industria de la Madera, Universidad Juárez del Estado de Durango;Department of Biology of Organisms and Systems, Mieres Polytechnic School, University of Oviedo, Campus Universitario de Mieres;Tecnológico Nacional de México, Campus Valle del Guadiana

关键词: Gene flow;    Seed stands;    Sierra Madre Occidental;    Isolation by distance;   

DOI  :  10.7717/peerj.8002

学科分类：社会科学、人文和艺术（综合）

来源: Inra

【 摘 要 】

BackgroundSpatial genetic structure (SGS) analysis is a powerful approach to quantifying gene flow between trees, thus clarifying the functional connectivity of trees at population and landscape scales. The findings of SGS analysis may be useful for conservation and management of natural populations and plantations. Pinus cembroides is a widely distributed tree species, covering an area of about 2.5 million hectares in Mexico. The aim of this study was to examine five natural seed stands of P. cembroides in the Sierra Madre Occidental to determine the SGS at population (within the seed stand) and landscape (among seed stands) levels in order to establish guidelines for the conservation and management of the species. We hypothesized that P. cembroides, in which the seeds are dispersed by birds and mammals, creates weaker SGS than species with wind-dispersed seeds.MethodsDNA fingerprinting was performed using the amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP) technique. In order to estimate the SGS at population and landscape levels, we measured the geographical (spatial) distance as the Euclidean distance. We also estimated the genetic distances between individuals using the pairwise kinship coefficient.ResultsThe results showed non-significant autocorrelation in four out of five seed stands studied (i.e., a mainly random distribution in the space of the genetic variants of P. cembroides at population level).DiscussionSGS was detected at the landscape scale, supporting the theory of isolation by distance as a consequence of restricted pollen and seed dispersal. However, the SGS may also have been generated by our sampling strategy. We recommended establishing a close network of seed stands of P. cembroides to prevent greater loss of local genetic variants and alteration of SGS. We recommend seed stands of P. cembroides of a minimum width of 225 m.

【 授权许可】

CC BY