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Plant Gene and Trait 2012, Vol.3, No.8, 43
-
49
http://pgt.sophiapublisher.com
43
Research Report Open Access
Assessment of Genetic Variability in Long-lived
Cupressus sempervirens
var.
horizontalis
Using SSR Markers
Korori A.A. Soudabeh
1
, Azadfar Davoud
2
, Shirvany Anoushirvan
3
, Valipour K. Hossein
4
, Matinizadeh
Mohammad
5
1. Research Group of the Technology of Sustainable Natural Ecosystems
2. Faculty of Natural Resources, University of Gorgan
3. Faculty of Natural Resources, University of Tehran
4. Research Group of the Technology of Natural Sustainable Ecosystems
5. Resrach Institite of Forests and Rangelands
Corresponding author email:
s.korori@yahoo.com;
Authors
Plant Gene and Trait, 2012, Vol.3, No.8 doi: 10.5376/pgt.2012.03.0008
Received: 12 May, 2012
Accepted: 20 Jun., 2012
Published: 28 Jun., 2012
This is an open access article published under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and
reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Preferred citation for this article:
Soudabeh et al., 2012, Assessment of Genetic Variability in Long-lived
Cupressus sempervirens
var.
horizontalis
Using SSR Markers, Plant Gene and Trait,
Vol.3, No.8 43-49 (doi: 10.5376/pgt.2012.03.0008)
Abstract
The ability of adaptation to environmental changes depends greatly on the genetic diversity of the species. As a member
of Cupresacea,
Cupressus sempervirens
var.
horizontalis
is one of the four native conifer trees in Iran that distribute in different
geographical provinces individually with the high longevity character. Assessing genetic diversity is considered vital for formulating
conservation strategies of endangered species such as Cypress. SSR molecular markers were employed to assess genetic diversity.
Nei’s gene diversity (
H
E
) ranged from 0.16 to 0.32 and the average expected heterozygosity (
H
E
) was 0.26. The mean Shannon
indices (
H
O
) was 0.41. The average Polymorphism Information Content was 0.26. Dendrogram was constructed using UPGMA
method divided all individuals into 4 major groups. Principal coordinate analysis shows the first two components account for 51.87%
of the total variation. The study implies that more variation needs to be introduced in the existing population for species persistence.
Keywords
Cupressus sempervirens
; Long-lived tree; Genetic diversity; SSR marker
Background
Genetic diversity of endangered species has always
enthused evolutionary and conservation biologists.
The ability of a species to adapt to environmental
changes depends greatly on the genetic diversity in the
species (Neel and Ellstrand, 2003; Anand et al., 2004).
As a member of Cupresacea,
Cupressus sempervirens
var.
horizontalis
is one of the four native conifer trees
in Iran. This tree species have been sparsely distributed
in different geographical provinces. It is native to the
eastern Mediterranean region, in northeast Libya,
southeast Greece (Crete, Rhodes), southern Turkey,
Cyprus, Northern Egypt, western Syria, Lebanon,
Palestine, Malta, Italy, western Jordan, and also a
disjunctive population in Iran. The natural stands of
this species in Iran distribute in Mediterranean regions.
In addition, individuals of
Cupressus sempervirens
with the high longevity character distribute in all
regions of Iran. These trees have a long age, so one of
the most characteristic of these individuals is high
resistance to biotic and abiotic stresses.
C. sempervirens
is a medicinal plant. The dried leaves of this plant
are used as an emmenagogue and a remedy for the
stomach pain (Castro, 1998) as well as for diabetes
(Assadi, 1998). The dried fruit of this plant is used for
inflammation treatment (Mascolo et al., 1987), toothache,
laryngitis (Darias, 1989), as a contraceptive (Jochle,
1962), astringent, and antiphrastic (Ponce-Macotela
et al., 1994). Genetic variations within and among
populations of species are critically important for any
conservation programs, because the long-term survival
of such a species strictly depends on the maintenance
of sufficient genetic variation to facilitate adaptations
to long-term environmental changes (Gitzendanner
and Soltis, 2000).
The analysis of the genetic variation within and
among populations of the species is crucial for