Mating system and genetic diversity of a rare desert legume Ammopiptanthus nanus (Leguminosae)

Abstract

Ammopiptanthus nanus is an endangered evergreen shrub endemic to the deserts of central Asia and plays an important role in delaying further desertification. We examined allozyme variation and AFLP diversity in A. nanus populations and investigated the mating system of this species using progeny arrays assayed for polymorphic allozyme loci. Mating system analysis in the Keyi'eryongke'er population showed low levels of outcrossing, and strong inbreeding depression. Low levels of genetic variation were detected at both population (allozyme, P p =14.0%, A=1.14, H e =0.031; AFLP, P p =14.5%, Shannon's information index I=0.063) and species (allozyme, P p =21.1%, A=1.21, H e =0.040; AFLP, P p =20.9%, I=0.083) levels; while moderate genetic differentiation existed among populations, as indicated by allozymes (G ST =0.081) and AFLP (G ST =0.151-0.193). Founder effect, bottlenecks in evolutionary history, the mixed mating system and co-ancestry may have influenced the level of genetic diversity in A. nanus. Markers of both types provide new insights for conservation management, indicating that the Biao'ertuokuoyi and Keyi'eryongke'er populations should be given priority for in situ conservation and regarded as seed sources for ex situ conservation.

Estimation of Mating System in the Endangered Aquatic Fern Ceratopteris pteridoides in China Based on AFLP Molecular Marker and Selfing Test: Implications for Conservation

“…2). The number of polymorphic loci detected was higher than that reported from previous studies in flowering plants such as Eucalyptus urophylla (Gaiotto et al, 1997), Persoonia mollis (Krauss, 2000), Myracrodruon urundeuva (Freitas et al, 2004), Moringa oleifera (Muluvi et al, 2004), Ammopiptanthus nanus (Chen et al, 2009), Acacia visco (Pometti et al, 2013), Jatropha curcas (Sinha et al, 2015), and Pongamia pinnata (Sharma et al, 2017). These highthroughput marker technologies allow for the analysis of a large number of individuals with a large number of markers in a relatively short time, as only a few RAPD primers, ISSR primers or a single AFLP primer pair allow the generation of sufficient markers to obtain a robust estimate of outcrossing rate (Gaiotto et al, 1997;Han et al, 2009;Sinha et al, 2015).…”

“…Although AFLP markers exhibit dominance (dominant homozygotes and heterozygotes are indiscernible), this lower resolution is compensated for by the easy evaluation of large numbers of loci and highly reproducible results (Mariette et al, 2002). Despite AFLP markers being dominant in most cases, they can detect more variation at the whole genome level than ISSR or RAPD markers, and they may detect variation more efficiently due to large numbers of screened loci that can be readily available and be screened (Chen et al, 2009). The dominant behavior of RAPD, ISSR and AFLP markers provides less information per locus as compared to co-dominant markers (Pometti et al, 2013).…”

Genetic structure and mating system of Ammopiptanthus mongolicus (Leguminosae), an endangered shrub in north‐western China

“…A mixed mating system was also observed in the congeneric species, Ammopiptanthus nanus with t m = 0.447 (Chen et al. 2009), and it is very common in natural populations of Ammopiptanthus for adult plants to bear many flowers, but produce a limited number of mature seeds.…”

“…In contrast, in the DKH population, pollinator availability and foraging behavior are limited by strong desert winds. A mixed mating system was also observed in the congeneric species, Ammopiptanthus nanus with t m = 0.447 (Chen et al 2009), and it is very common in natural populations of Ammopiptanthus for adult plants to bear many flowers, but produce a limited number of mature seeds. Flowering plants that produce many flowers can effectively attract pollinators (Franceschinelli & Bawa 2000), which is rather important for Ammopiptanthus species because of the severe environmental conditions in which they occur.…”

Chloroplast phylogeography of Helianthemum songaricum (Cistaceae) from northwestern China: implications for preservation of genetic diversity

“…There are many studies concerning phylogeography in the context of the Tibetan plateau (Zhang et al 2005;Yuan et al 2008), because of its complex topography and the climatic effects of plateau uplift. However, investigations on the phylogeography of plant species in the arid northwestern part of China are scarce, including only genetic diversity measurements on a few plant species (Chen et al 2009). The arid zone in northwestern China comprises the entire Xinjiang Autonomous Region, the Hexi Corridor in Gansu Province, the Caidamu Basin in Qinghai Province, and western parts of the Helan Mountains in the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region (Alxa Dersert) (Zhu et al 2004).…”