Information on population genetics is fundamental to developing in situ or ex situ conservation strategies. Few researchers, however, have compared the genetic structure of restored and natural populations of threatened plant species. Metasequoia glyptostroboides Hu & Cheng (dawn redwood) (Taxodiaceae), a living fossil endemic to China, may be the most successfully recovered threatened species, with many more individuals and a much wider distribution than fossil records indicate. We used random amplification of polymorphic DNA markers to compare the genetic structure of artificial populations with that of wild ones and to determine whether the genetic structure of M. glyptostroboides has been recovered as has its distribution. The genetic variation of wild populations of M. glyptostroboides was lower than the average of gymnosperms, indicating the effects of glaciations and recent habitat loss and fragmentation. Genetic variation in artificial populations was less, but not substantially, compared with wild populations. The unweighted pair group method with arithmetic mean revealed that the wild and the artificial populations formed two distinct groups. Artificial populations were more similar to each other (mean Nei's genetic distance = 0.0924) than to wild populations (mean distance = 0.2054). This might be the result of biased seed collection, vegetative propagation, or a mixture of propagules from different populations and an ultimate propagule source. These results suggest that although the quantity and distribution range have been successfully restored, the genetic structure of M. glyptostroboides has not recovered appropriately, given the loss of genetic variation and biased genetic composition in artificial populations. Therefore, in addition to protecting the wild populations, additional ex situ genetic reserves should be established based on genetic knowledge and via appropriate approaches. We suggest that population genetic and demographic indices should be considered when downlisting or delisting threatened species.Resumen: Es fundamental contar con información sobre genética poblacional para el desarrollo de estrategias de conservación in situ o ex situ. Sin embargo, pocos investigadores han comparado la estructura genética de poblaciones restauradas y naturales de especies de plantas amenazadas. Metasequoia glyptostroboides Hu & Cheng (Taxodiaceae), un fósil viviente endémico de China, puede ser la especie amenazada recuperada más exitosamente, con mucho más individuos y una distribución mucho mayor que la indicada por registros fósiles. Utilizamos amplificaciones aleatorias de marcadores de ADN polimórfico para comparar la estructura genética de poblaciones artificiales con la de poblaciones silvestres y para determinar si la estructura genética de M. glyptostroboides se ha recuperado como lo ha hecho su distribución. La variación genética de ‡Address correspondence to X.-Y. Chen, email Li et al. Genetic Variation in Metasequoia 225poblaciones silvestres de M. glyptostroboides fue menor que la del ...
Heptacodium miconioides Rehd. is an endangered species endemic to China and has suffered rapid decrease of distribution range and population size. This species has been disappeared in central China where the modal specimen was collected. We analyzed the genetic variation of the remaining populations to reveal whether the genetic diversity also suffered decrease and to provide some suggestions for conservation. All the nine known remaining populations were sampled. Genetic variation was analyzed based on RAPD markers and two fragments of cpDNA sequence, intergenic spacers of petG-trnP and trnS-trnG. No variation was observed in the two fragments of cpDNA sequence. However, the species exhibited high level of RAPD variation compared to other threatened or rare plants. Measures of genetic diversity within populations were strongly related to the log of estimated population size, indicating that large populations usually have more genetic diversity than that of small ones. About 25% of the variation was partitioned among populations. Significant relationship was observed between differentiation and geographical distance, indicating a pattern of isolation-by-distance. Given for few populations remaining, all the populations should be protected and urgent efforts be paid on the small populations to avoid their local extinction.
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