Genetic fingerprinting of germplasm accessions as an aid for species conservation: a case study with Borderea chouardii (Dioscoreaceae), one of the most critically endangered Iberian plants.
Segarra-Moragues, J.G.; Iriondo, J.M.; Catalán, P.. Genetic fingerprinting of germplasm accessions as an aid for species conservation: a case study with Borderea chouardii (Dioscoreaceae), one of the most critically endangered Iberian plants.. Annals of Botany . 2005, Vol. 96, p. 1283-2005.
Background and Aims Molecular markers have changed previous expectations about germplasm collections of
endangered plants, as new perspectives aim at holding a significant representation of all the genetic diversity in
the studied species to accomplish further conservation initiatives successfully. Borderea chouardii is a critically
endangered allotetraploid dioecious member of Dioscoreaceae, known from a single population in the Iberian pre-
Pyrenees. This population was reported to be highly structured into two genetically distinct groups of individuals
corresponding to their spatial separation along the vertical cliff where it grows. In 1999, the Spanish Government of
Arago´n launched the first conservation programme for the ex situ preservation of this species, and since then a seed
collection has been conserved at the Germplasm Bank of the Universidad Polite´cnica de Madrid. However, as some
seed samples had not been labelled clearly at the time of collection, their origin was uncertain.
Methods Genetic variation in germplasm accessions of B. chouardii was investigated using microsatellite (simple
sequence repeat; SSR) markers.
Key Results The 17 primer pairs used detected 62 SSR alleles in the 46 samples analysed from five different
germplasm stocks. Eight alleles scored from the wild population were not detected in the germplasm samples
analysed. The relatedness of the germplasm samples to the wild subpopulations through neighbour-joining
clustering, principal coordinates analysis (PCO) and assignment tests revealed a biased higher representation of
the genetic diversity of the lower cliff (43 samples) subpopulation than that of the upper cliff (three samples).
Conclusions The collection of additional samples from the upper cliff is recommended to achieve a better
representation of the genetic diversity of this subpopulation. It is also recommended that these stocks should be
managed separately according to their distinct microspatial origin in order to preserve the genetic substructuring of
the wild population.
Background and Aims Molecular markers have changed previous expectations about germplasm collections of
endangered plants, as new perspectives aim at holding a significant representation of all the genetic diversity in
the studied species to accomplish further conservation initiatives successfully. Borderea chouardii is a critically
endangered allotetraploid dioecious member of Dioscoreaceae, known from a single population in the Iberian pre-
Pyrenees. This population was reported to be highly structured into two genetically distinct groups of individuals
corresponding to their spatial separation along the vertical cliff where it grows. In 1999, the Spanish Government of
Arago´n launched the first conservation programme for the ex situ preservation of this species, and since then a seed
collection has been conserved at the Germplasm Bank of the Universidad Polite´cnica de Madrid. However, as some
seed samples had not been labelled clearly at the time of collection, their origin was uncertain.
Methods Genetic variation in germplasm accessions of B. chouardii was investigated using microsatellite (simple
sequence repeat; SSR) markers.
Key Results The 17 primer pairs used detected 62 SSR alleles in the 46 samples analysed from five different
germplasm stocks. Eight alleles scored from the wild population were not detected in the germplasm samples
analysed. The relatedness of the germplasm samples to the wild subpopulations through neighbour-joining
clustering, principal coordinates analysis (PCO) and assignment tests revealed a biased higher representation of
the genetic diversity of the lower cliff (43 samples) subpopulation than that of the upper cliff (three samples).
Conclusions The collection of additional samples from the upper cliff is recommended to achieve a better
representation of the genetic diversity of this subpopulation. It is also recommended that these stocks should be
managed separately according to their distinct microspatial origin in order to preserve the genetic substructuring of
the wild population.