Morphological and Molecular Diversity Among Italian Populations of Quercus petraea (Fagaceae)

Abstract

Quercus petraea (sessile oak) has a scattered distribution in southern and central Italy. The objective of this work was to evaluate the level and distribution of diversity in five Italian populations of Q. petraea by using morphological markers and hypervariable molecular markers such as microsatellites. Forty-eight morphological traits and six nuclear and three plastid loci were scored for each population. Evidence for differentiation in both sets of traits was found, but patterns of differentiation of morphological traits did not coincide with microsatellite differentiation. Morphological variation was correlated with ecological conditions at the site of origin. Analysis of molecular variance revealed significant genetic variation among populations (P < 0.001), both at the nuclear and plastid levels. There was a slight, but significant, correlation between nuclear genetic distance and geographic distance. The relatively high genetic diversity in the populations analysed indicates that the maintenance of their evolutionary potential is possible if population sizes are maintained or increased. Low levels of haplotype diversity found within the small southernmost population (Piano Costantino) indicates that genetic erosion may increase the extinction risk for this population.

Genetic differences within natural and planted stands of Quercus petraea

“…These spatial differences were more substantial than the differences that were revealed from a comparison of the stands under diverse management regimes. This confirms the data of Bodénès et al [15] and Bruschi et al [14]. Based on our results, we can assume that planting material obtained from a nearby area was used to produce the new forest.…”

“…Finkeldey [11] analyzed 17 isoenzyme loci to reveal that differentiation among populations within a species is very low, reflecting the geographical location of populations to a certain extent. Bruschi et al [14] also noticed a slight correlation between genetic distance and geographic distance among populations; they evaluated the diversity of several populations using both morphological and molecular markers. Using microsatellites, a low or not significant genetic differentiation among populations of Q. petraea was reported in France [15,16], Belgium [17], Ireland [18], Denmark [19], and the Czech Republic [20].…”

Molecular diversity among Turkish oaks (QUERCUS) using random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) analysis

“…But there are some studies that used RAPD data in different sections of oaks (Bruschi et al, 2003;Gonzalez-Rodriguez et al, 2004;Franjic et al, 2006;Ardi et al, 2012). Here, taxonomies of the studied species are not well known.…”

Molecular and morphological analyses of date palm (Phoenix dactylifera L.) subpopulations in southern Tunisia

“…Generally, natural and human selective forces acting on SSR variation differ from those acting on morphological traits. Furthermore, morphological traits are affected by the environment when they are expressed, whereas microsatellites are not and their variation is based directly on DNA sequence variation (Bruschi et al, 2003).…”