Genetic Diversity, Structure, and Differentiation of Pinus sylvestris L. Populations in the East European Plain and the Middle Urals

Abstract

Genetic diversity is important for the long-term survival of species and plays a critical role in their conservation. To manifest the adaptive potential, it is necessary to preserve the allelic diversity of populations, including both typical and region-specific alleles. Molecular genetic analysis of 22 populations of Scotch pine (Pinus sylvestris L.; Pinaceae) in 10 subjects of the Russian Federation in the East European Plain and the Middle Urals was carried out. Molecular genetic analysis of 22 populations of P. sylvestris revealed 182 polymorphic PCR fragments. The studied populations are characterized by a medium level of genetic diversity. A high subdivision coefficient (GST) of the studied populations was established; the intensity was 0.559. At the same time, the level of subdivision differed for different regions; for the populations from the Middle Urals, it was 15.5% (GST = 0.155), and for the populations from the East European Plain, it was 55.8% (GST = 0.558). The dendrogram of genetic similarity shows five clusters of the studied populations of P. sylvestris according to their geographical location. The populations from the East European Plain are mostly characterized by typicality, while the populations from the Middle Urals, on the contrary, are more specific in gene pools. The use of the coefficient of genetic originality to identify populations with typical and specific alleles allows for solving the problem of selecting populations for the conservation of forest genetic resources. The data obtained on genetic diversity, and the structure of populations growing in areas of active logging, are important for determining the geographical origin of plant samples, which is an integral part of the control of illegal logging.

Variability of Scots pine (<i>Pinus sylvestris</i> L.) plus trees in the Middle and Upper Volga Region with the use of ISSR markers

“…These data comply with the information previously acquired for natural populations of Scots pine in the Upper and Middle Volga region (14 %) (Sheikina, 2022a). The value of this parameter was 37-48 % (Vasilyeva et al, 2021;Chertov et al, 2022;Sboeva et al, 2022) for the populations from the East European Plain and the Urals. Assessment of the differentiation of Scots pine populations from various parts by measuring the indicator of genetic subdivision (Gst) proved that the interpopulation component of the variability of ISSR loci can account for from 5.8 to 55.8 % (Hui-yu et al, 2005;Cipriano et al, 2013;Vidyakin et al, 2015;Vasilyeva et al, 2021;Chertov et al, 2022;Sboeva et al, 2022;Sheikina, 2022a).…”

“…A similar value of the expected heterozygosity of ISSR loci (He = 0.239) was identified for plus Scots pine trees from the Republic of Bashkortostan (Khanova et al, 2020). Lower values of expected heterozygosity were determined for Scots pine populations on the Russian Plain (He = 0.046-0.239) (Vidyakin et al, 2015;Prishnivskaya et al, 2019;Vasilyeva et al, 2021;Sboeva et al, 2022) and in the Urals (He = 0.149-0.185) (Chertov et al, 2022). High values of expected heterozygosity (He = 0.447-0.488) were typical for Portuguese populations (Cipriano et al, 2013), 1.5-2.4 times higher than the values described above.…”

“…For the samplings of plus trees under study, the Shannon index varied from 0.331 to 0.393. In other studies, the Shannon index identified for populations from different parts of Russia was 0.087-0.357 (Vasilyeva et al, 2021;Chertov et al, 2022;Sboeva et al, 2022). Higher values of the Shannon index (I = 0.636-0.681) were determined for Scots pine populations from Portugal (Cipriano et al, 2013).…”

“…However, no assessment of the genetic diversity of Scots pine plus trees in other parts of the Middle and Upper Volga region has been made. Meanwhile, ISSR markers are widely employed to study the characteristics of the population genetic structure of Scots pine in China (Hui-yu et al, 2005), Portugal (Cipriano et al, 2013), on the East European Plain and in the Urals (Vidyakin et al, 2015;Vasilyeva et al, 2021;Chertov et al, 2022;Sboeva et al, 2022), in the Perm Territory (Prishnivskaya et al, 2019) and in the Volga region (Sheikina, 2022a).…”

Biodiversity and Conservation of Forests

“…Chertov et al [14] studied the genetic diversity and population structure of Larix sibirica in the Urals, concluding that the currently observed differentiations between the populations need to be preserved by maintaining non-fragmented populations and preventing the geographical isolation of existing populations. In the same region, Sboeva et al [15] reported a limited genetic diversity in Pius silvestris, which is explained by the biogeography of the established populations. A similar study by Gong et al [16] on Cinnamomum camphora in East Asia revealed significant differences in genetic diversity among populations and moderate differentiation between populations.…”