No abstract

Sasa borealis (Hack.) Makino & Shibata is widely distributed in South Korea. With amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP) markers, we analyzed the genetic diversity of S. borealis to predict and measure the phytogeographical factors of these populations. Relatively high levels of genetic diversity (PPL = 37.2%, h = 0.143, I = 0.205) and genetic differentiation (G st = 0.324, θ B = 0.395) were confirmed in populations of S. borealis. Moreover, an analysis of molecular variance (AMOVA) showed that the rate of differentiation among the populations was 47.7%. The results showed that genetic diversity is inversely proportional to the latitude of the S. borealis populations, indicating that the distribution of S. borealis may have extended from lower to higher latitudes. This method of investigating the correlation between genetic diversity and latitude presents critical information for estimating changes in distributions and plant conservation due to climate change.