Genetic Structure and Geographical Differentiation of Larix sibirica Ledeb. in the Urals

Abstract

The Ural Mountains and the West Eurasian Taiga forests are one of the most important centers of genetic diversity for Larix sibirica Ledeb. Forest fragmentation negatively impacts forest ecosystems, especially due to the impact of their intensive use on the effects of climate change. For the preservation and rational use of forest genetic resources, it is necessary to carefully investigate the genetic diversity of the main forest-forming plant species. The Larix genus species are among the most widespread woody plants in the world. The Siberian larch (Larix sibirica, Pinaceae) is found in the forest, forest-tundra, tundra (Southern part), and forest-steppe zones of the North, Northeast, and partly East of the European part of Russia and in Western and Eastern Siberia; in the Urals, the Siberian larch is distributed fragmentarily. In this study, eight pairs of simple sequence repeat (SSR) primers were used to analyse the genetic diversity and population structure of 15 Siberian larch populations in the Urals. Natural populations in the Urals exhibit indicators of genetic diversity comparable to those of Siberia populations (expected heterozygosity, He = 0.623; expected number of alleles, Ne = 4017; observed heterozygosity, Ho = 0.461). Genetic structure analysis revealed that the examined populations are relatively highly differentiated (Fst = 0.089). Using various algorithms for determining the spatial genetic structure, the examined populations formed three groups according to geographical location. The data obtained are required for the development of species conservation and restoration programs, which are especially important in the Middle Urals, which is the region with strong forest fragmentation.

Genetic Uniqueness and Genetic Structure of Populations of Picea obovata Ledeb. and Larix sibirica Ledeb. in the Northern and Middle Urals

“…An analysis of the genetic structure of six populations of L. sibirica showed that, for the total group of L. sibirica, the index of subdivision of populations (G ST ) in the case of using needles was 0.177, which was lower than that of spruce populations. An indicator of a high level of differentiation (He) was also observed using SSR markers [41]. Also, interpopulation differentiation in other studies has ranged from 6 to 7%, for L. gmelinii in the Far East it has reached 8% [63,64].…”

“…The highest level of species diversity in the Urals was noted in the "Permian-Kama Cis-Uralian" population, which was established using a complex of data from morphological and isoenzyme analyzes [38]. Highly informative PCR-based genome profiling applications, such as SSR, AFLP, RAPD, and ISSR methods, are now effectively used to study the genetic polymorphism of conifers and, in particular, species of the genus Larix [39][40][41][42][43]. Wide-scale surveys of the evolutionary history and distribution of the genus Larix using mitochondrial and chloroplast genetic markers have been conducted on 116 populations in Russia, Mongolia, Kazakhstan, and China [37].…”

Effect of Forest Litter on the Regeneration of <i>Larix sibirica</i>: Insight from Aqueous Extract and Litter Coverage

“…As a Larix tree in the Larch family, Larix sibirical Ledeb. is distributed in the eastern Tianshan Mountains and the Altai Mountains in Xinjiang, as well as in Ural Mountains, Eastern Siberia and other cold temperate regions of high latitude (Chertov et al, 2021). In the middle part of the Altai Mountains in China, the widely distributed, typical and important natural vegetation type in the forest ecosystem is the Lrix sibirica forest, which play an important role in maintaining regional ecological security and biodiversity (Kharuk et al, 2019).…”

Biodiversity and Conservation of Forests

“…habitats across the globe. 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.…”