engleski

Genetic diversity of Fraxinus angustifolia Vahl populations in Croatia assesed by nuclear microsatellites

Narrow leaved ash (Fraxinus angustifolia Vahl) is a wind-pollinated tree species with a Mediterranean distribution found throughout southern and eastern Europe. The aim of this study was to determine genetic diversity within and between natural populations of narrow leaved ash in Croatia and to estimate the level of genetic structure present between two biogeographical regions. A total of 345 trees from 11 populations were sampled (4 from Mediterranean, 7 from Continental region) and genetic variation was analysed using six microsatellite markers. A total of 80 alleles were detected with an average allele number of 29.33 per locus. High levels of both observed and expected heterozygosity (mean values of 0.68 and 0.70, respectively) were uncovered within populations. Significant differences in mean allelic richness, observed and expected heterozygosity were found between the regions, being lower in the Mediterranean. There were no significant deviations from Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium for any loci within any population. Population-pairwise FST values were from 0 to 0.07. Analysis of molecular variance revealed the most of the genetic diversity was attributable to variations among individuals within populations (95.84%), leaving 2.72% of the diversity among populations within regions and 1.43% between regions.

genetic differentiation; population structure; microsatellites; Fraxinus angustifolia

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