A rangewide herbarium‐derived dataset indicates high levels of gene flow in black cherry (Prunus serotina)

Abstract

Isolation by Distance (IBD) is a genetic pattern in which populations geographically closer to one another are more genetically similar to each other than populations which are farther apart. Black cherry (Prunus serotina Ehrh.) (Rosaceae) is a forest tree species widespread in eastern North America, and found sporadically in the southwestern United States, Mexico, and Guatemala. IBD has been studied in relatively few North American plant taxa, and no study has rigorously sampled across the range of such a widespread species. In this study, IBD and overall genetic structure were assessed in eastern black cherry (P. serotina Ehrh. var. serotina), the widespread variety of eastern North America. Eastern North America. Prunus serotina Ehrh. var. serotina (Rosaceae). Dense sampling across the entire range of eastern black cherry was made possible by genotyping 15 microsatellite loci in 439 herbarium samples from all portions of the range. Mantel tests and STRUCTURE analyses were performed to evaluate the hypothesis of IBD and genetic structure. Mantel tests demonstrated significant but weak IBD, while STRUCTURE analyses revealed no clear geographic pattern of genetic groups. The modest geographic/genetic structure across the eastern black cherry range suggests widespread gene flow in this taxon. This is consistent with P. serotina's status as a disturbance‐associated species. Further studies should similarly evaluate IBD in species characteristic of low‐disturbance forests.

Characterization of the Insect Assemblage and Associated Floral Volatiles of Black Cherry (Prunus serotina)

“…While the floral volatile blend of chemotype 1 is more abundant in several phenylpropanoids/benzenoids including benzaldehyde, phenylacetaldehyde and phenylethanol, that of chemotype 2 is characterized by the presence of methoxylated derivatives (i.e., p -anisaldehyde, p -anisyl alcohol, methyl p -anisate) not found in chemotype 1. Considering the substantial genetic variation that was found within the entire eastern black cherry population in the USA [ 12 , 51 , 52 ], the identification of these two chemotypes and the potential existence of even more chemotypes are not surprising. The formation of the observed floral volatile blend composed of more than 30 VOCs ( Table 2 ) involves multiple metabolic pathways and genes that are all potential targets for genetic variation.…”

Reversing extinction trends: new uses of (old) herbarium specimens to accelerate conservation action on threatened species

“…The DNA extracted from herbarium specimens, while often degraded (Hart et al ., 2016), has been used successfully to shed light on the phylogenetics (Silva et al ., 2017), population genetics (Konrade et al ., 2019), biogeography (Zedane et al ., 2016), ethnopharmacology (Stepp & Thomas, 2005), and physiology (Besnard et al ., 2014) of various plant species. Genetic material from herbarium specimens can also be used for informing conservation practices, such as legal protection (e.g.…”

Ancient Plant Genomics in Archaeology, Herbaria, and the Environment

“…Herbarium specimens can be used if samples cannot be collected in the wild, for example if species are endangered or extinct, or if collection from the wild is not feasible due to high cost and time restrictions. For example, Konrade et al (70) tested about 500 herbarium specimens of black cherry (Prunus serotina) to sample the whole Eastern North American range of this widespread species. They were able to detect a weak signal of isolation-by-distance by using 15 microsatellite loci.…”