Population and genetic status of a critically endangered species in Korea: <i>Hydrangea luteovenosa</i> (Hydrangeaceae)

Abstract

The population status of Hydrangea luteovenosa Koidz. in Korea was investigated, with an emphasis on its genetic diversity. From field surveys, we obtained the only locality record for a wild population in Jeju Island, which contained 285 individuals in total. Genotyping was performed using five microsatellite markers for the all extant plants in Korea. Three Japanese populations were also genotyped for the comparative analyses. The genotyping result showed that the Jeju population consisted of only two multilocus genotypes, including identical heterozygous genotypes at two loci; it had been maintained mostly by vegetative reproduction; and although the Jeju population is geographically far from Japanese populations, all alleles observed in the Korean population were shared with Japanese populations, suggesting the possibility that H. luteovenosa in the Jeju Island had been recently migrated or introduced from Japan. Future ecological and genetic studies associated with negative effects of low genetic variation will be essential for determining the conservation direction of the threatened Korean population of this species.