Spatial genetic structure in seed stands of Pinus lumholtzii B.L. Rob. & Fernald in Durango, Mexico

• Published in: Tree genetics & genomes Vol. 12; no. 4; p. 1
• Main Authors: Reyes-Murillo, Carlos Alonso, Hernández-Díaz, José Ciro, Heinze, Berthold, Prieto-Ruiz, José Ángel, López-Sánchez, Carlos Antonio, Wehenkel, Christian
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Berlin/Heidelberg Springer Berlin Heidelberg 01.08.2016; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Biomedical and Life Sciences; Biotechnology; Breeding; Endemic species; Foliage; Forestry; Forests; Genetic structure; Genetic variance; Genetics; Genomes; Leaves; Life Sciences; Original Article; Pine trees; Plant Breeding/Biotechnology; Plant Genetics and Genomics; Plant species; Pollen; Reforestation; Seed dispersal; Soil types; Soils; Tree Biology; Mexico; Isolation; Gene flow; Spatial distribution; Autocorrelation; AFLP
• ISSN: 1614-2942; 1614-2950
• DOI: 10.1007/s11295-016-1023-x

Sad pine is one of the most prominent pine species in Mexico due to its conspicuous pendulous foliage and extreme habitat. However, scientific studies of the species are scarce, and genetic information on sad pine populations is lacking. This endemic tree species occurs naturally on the Sierra Madre Occidental where it covers a total area of about 1,600,000 ha. It typically grows with several species of Quercus and Pinus or in pure stands in uneven-aged forests. Pinus lumholtzii is naturally spatially fragmented, and genetic research on seed and pollen dispersal patterns and spatial genetic structure (SGS)—and the possible implications of these in terms of evolution, conservation and breeding management—is particularly important. Given the fragmented occurrence of the preferred soil type, the goal of this research was to use amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP) markers to identify potential differences in spatial genetic structure within and between five P. lumholtzii seed stands at fine and large scales. At the fine scale, we almost always observed non-significant autocorrelation, suggesting that the genetic variants of P. lumholtzii are randomly distributed in space within each sampled seed stand. At the larger scale, our findings provide strong support for the theory of isolation by distance that predicts the expected pattern of SGS at drift–dispersal equilibrium. We recommend a network of P. lumholtzii seed stands of maximum distances of 100 km among stands to prevent greater loss of local genetic variants and use the seeds for reforestations in a radius of maximal 50 km from their proveniences.