Genetic Identification of Closely Related Endangered Rhododendron Species from East Asia

• Published in: Russian journal of genetics Vol. 58; no. 1; pp. 116 - 121
• Main Authors: Polezhaeva, M. A., Iunusova, D. R., Tikhonova, N. A., Polezhaev, A. N., Koldaeva, M. N.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Moscow Pleiades Publishing 01.02.2022
• Subjects: Animal Genetics and Genomics; Biomedical and Life Sciences; Biomedicine; Human Genetics; Microbial Genetics and Genomics; Short Communications; H; A; genetic differentiation; TabCD; population structure; cpDNA
• ISSN: 1022-7954; 1608-3369
• DOI: 10.1134/S1022795422010082

In the present study, two chloroplast DNA markers ( trn H -psb A, TabCD) were used to analyze genetic differentiation of six populations of Rhododendron adamsii from Sakhalin, Yakutia, Buryatia, Western Sayan, and Magadan oblast and two populations of Rhododendron parvifolium from Buryatia and Khabarovsk krai. A total of six haplotypes were found. While R. parvifolium with a single unique haplotype did not possess any genetic variability, R. adamsii exhibited a geographically determined distribution of cpDNA haplotypes. The samples from Buryatia were grouped into one homogeneous clade and the samples from the Far Eastern part of the range were grouped into another, showing a moderate genetic diversity within populations. Analysis of molecular variance (AMOVA) detected high genetic differentiation among R. adamsii populations ( F ST = 0.98, p < 0.001). GenBank sequences of closely related species were obtained for the estimation of the phylogenetic relationships of these species. We suggest that trn H- psb A and TabCD markers may be applicable for the species identification and for the elucidation of the population structure of rare R. adamsii .