<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"><p>Genetic variation is a major component of plant development and adaptation, and recent studies have shown that genetic variation among plant species can have important ecological effects. Oriental beech (<italic>Fagus orientalis</italic> Lipsky) is a dominant tree species in the Hyrcanian forests, where it occupies approximately 18 % of the forested area. In this study, nine expressed sequence tag simple sequence repeat (EST-SSR) markers were used to determine the genetic diversity and structure of Iranian Oriental beech populations growing at different altitudes. We further compared the genetic structures of the Iranian populations to a <italic>F. orientalis</italic> and a <italic>Fagus sylvatica</italic> L. population from the hybrid zone of the two taxa in southeast Europe, and to a <italic>F. sylvatica</italic> population from central Europe. All populations showed a high genetic diversity, which was similar to other <italic>F. orientalis</italic> and <italic>F. sylvatica</italic> populations from Europe. The genetic differentiation among Iranian beech populations was very low. In contrast, distinct genetic differentiation was found between the Iranian populations and the analyzed European populations (<italic>F. orientalis</italic> and <italic>F. sylvatica</italic>). One EST-SSR was identified to differentiate (<italic>G<sub>ST</sub></italic>: 0.503) between <italic>F. orientalis</italic> and <italic>F. sylvatica</italic> with very pronounced allele frequency differences between taxa. Specifically, the <italic>Fagus sylvatica</italic> characteristic allele 189 was almost absent from all Iranian populations and present in low frequencies in <italic>F. orientalis</italic> populations from other regions. This study helps to extend the knowledge of genetic diversity and genetic structure of Iranian Oriental beech populations. It further gives insights into the genetic differentiation between <italic>F. orientalis</italic> populations from the center and the edge of the species’ distribution range as well as between Oriental and European beech.</p></abstract>

Genetic variation is a major component of plant development and adaptation, and recent studies have shown that genetic variation among plant species can have important ecological effects. Oriental beech (Fagus orientalis Lipsky) is a dominant tree species in the Hyrcanian forests, where it occupies approximately 18 % of the forested area. In this study, nine expressed sequence tag simple sequence repeat (EST-SSR) markers were used to determine the genetic diversity and structure of Iranian Oriental beech populations growing at different altitudes. We further compared the genetic structures of the Iranian populations to a F. orientalis and a Fagus sylvatica L. population from the hybrid zone of the two taxa in southeast Europe, and to a F. sylvatica population from central Europe. All populations showed a high genetic diversity, which was similar to other F. orientalis and F. sylvatica populations from Europe. The genetic differentiation among Iranian beech populations was very low. In contrast, distinct genetic differentiation was found between the Iranian populations and the analyzed European populations (F. orientalis and F. sylvatica). One EST-SSR was identified to differentiate (GST: 0.503) between F. orientalis and F. sylvatica with very pronounced allele frequency differences between taxa. Specifically, the Fagus sylvatica characteristic allele 189 was almost absent from all Iranian populations and present in low frequencies in F. orientalis populations from other regions. This study helps to extend the knowledge of genetic diversity and genetic structure of Iranian Oriental beech populations. It further gives insights into the genetic differentiation between F. orientalis populations from the center and the edge of the species’ distribution range as well as between Oriental and European beech.

Genetic diversity and structure of Oriental and European beech populations from Iran and Europe

Faculty for Forest Sciences and Forest Ecology, Forest Genetics and Forest Tree Breeding

Silvae Genetica

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.

Genetic variation is a major component of plant development and adaptation, and recent studies have shown that genetic variation among plant species can have...

Genetic diversity and structure of Oriental and European beech populations from Iran and Europe

Published Online: Jul 13, 2020

Page range: 55 - 62

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/sg-2020-0008

Keywords
Genetic diversity, genetic structure, microsatellite, Fagaceae, Fagus orientalis, Fagus sylvatica, Hyrcanian forest

© 2020 Mahboobeh Mohebi Bijarpasi et al., published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.

Genetic diversity and structure of Oriental and European beech populations from Iran and Europe

Published Online: Jul 13, 2020

Page range: 55 - 62

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/sg-2020-0008

KeywordsGenetic diversity, genetic structure, microsatellite, Fagaceae, Fagus orientalis, Fagus sylvatica, Hyrcanian forest

© 2020 Mahboobeh Mohebi Bijarpasi et al., published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.

Keywords
Genetic diversity, genetic structure, microsatellite, Fagaceae, Fagus orientalis, Fagus sylvatica, Hyrcanian forest