One Step Away From Extinction: A Population Genomic Analysis of A Narrow Endemic, Tropical Plant Species

Abstract

Intraspecific genetic variation plays a fundamental role in maintaining the evolutionary potential of wild populations. Hence, the assessment of genetic diversity patterns becomes essential to guide biodiversity conservation policies, particularly for threatened species. To inform management strategies for conservation of Mimosa catharinensis – a narrow endemic, critically endangered plant species – we identified 1,497 unlinked SNP markers derived from a reduced representation sequencing method (i.e., double digest restriction site associated DNA sequencing, or ddRADseq). This set of molecular markers was employed to assess intrapopulation genetic parameters and the demographic history of one extremely small population of M. catharinensis (N=33) located in the Brazilian Atlantic Forest. Contrary to what is expected for narrow endemic and threatened species with small population sizes, we observed a moderate level of genetic diversity for M. catharinensis [uHE(0%missing data)=0.205, 95% CI (0.160, 0.250); uHE(30%missing data)=0.233, 95% CI (0.174, 0.292)]. Interestingly, M. catharinensis, which is a lianescent shrub with no indication of seed production for at least two decades, presented high levels of outcrossing [t(0%missing data)=0.883, SE±0.0483; t(30%missing data)=0.909, SE±0.011] and an apparent absence of inbreeding [F(0%missing data)=−0.145, 95% CI (−0.189, −0.101); F(30%missing data)=−0.105, 95% CI (−0.199, −0.011)]. However, the reconstruction of demographic history of M. catharinensis indicated that the population should be suffered a recent bottleneck. Our population genomic study tackles a central issue in evolution and conservation biology and we expect that it will be useful to help safeguard the remaining genetic diversity reported for this unique genetic resource.

Genomic diversity and structure of a Neotropical microendemic fig tree

“…Despite their low population density, several tropical plants present moderate or even high levels of genetic diversity and, in many cases, an excess of heterozygotes (Eguiarte et al, 1992;Heer et al, 2015;Nazareno & Carvalho, 2009;Teixeira & Nazareno, 2021). In the case of F. pringlei, the moderate levels of H e and negative values of F IS for all locations may be related to its perennial life form, cross-pollination, pollen dispersal over long distances, and random mating of individuals facilitated by the frequent reproductive asynchrony (Rojas-Cortés et al, 2022), as has been suggested for other…”

“…Despite their low population density, several tropical plants present moderate or even high levels of genetic diversity and, in many cases, an excess of heterozygotes (Eguiarte et al., 1992 ; Heer et al., 2015 ; Nazareno & Carvalho, 2009 ; Teixeira & Nazareno, 2021 ). In the case of F .…”

Rhaponticoides mykalea (Hub.-Mor.) M.V.Agab. & Greuter'in Taksonomisi, Yayılışı, Hayat Döngüsü ve Ekolojik Gereksinimleri

“…Tür Eylem Planı içerisinde türün doğal popülasyonlarını koruyabilmek için in situ çalışmalarına gereksinim olduğu vurgulanmıştır. Endemik ve/veya nadir bitki türlerinin yok olmalarını engellemek için etkili yöntemler geliştirebilmek ancak bu türlerin yaşam döngülerinin, ekolojik gereksinimlerinin, popülasyonların büyümesini ve yayılış alanlarını genişletmesini sınırlayan faktörlerin belirlenmesi ve türe yönelik tehditlerin bertaraf edilmesi durumunda mümkün olabilir (Dafni vd., 1981;Kuramoto vd., 1992;Lesica, 1992;Inoue vd., 1994;Schemske vd., 1994;Gonzalez-Benito vd., 1995;Takenaka vd., 1996;Witkowski, 2001;Shteina vd., 2016;Oskay, 2017Oskay, , 2020Cubas vd., 2021;Nettle vd., 2020;Cubas vd., 2021;Teixeira, 2021). Bu çalışmada türün taksonomisi, yayılış alanı, ekolojik gereksinimleri ve yaşam döngüsü rapor edilmiştir.…”

Genomic evidence reveals high genetic diversity in a narrowly distributed species and natural hybridization risk with a widespread species in the genus Geodorum

“…Genetic diversity is an important component of biodiversity and is the sum of all genetic information carried by different individuals within a species or a population [ 1 ]. Understanding the degree of genetic diversity in narrowly distributed species is a core issue in conservation genetics [ 2 ]. Traditionally, most narrowly distributed species have been thought to have lower genetic diversity than widespread species [ 3 , 4 ], although this view has been challenged [ 5 ].…”