Implementation of the Programme for Conservation of Plant Genetic Resources in the Republic of Srpska from 2009 to 2012

The Programme for Conservation of Plant Genetic Resources in the Republic of Srpska was established in 2008. The main objective of the Programme is effective management of plant genetic resources through carrying out of continuous field inventories and collection, evaluation, exchange and conservation of germplasm. The Genetic Resources Institute, University of Banja Luka was appointed as a expert unit for coordination and implementation of the Programme. In the period from 2009 to 2011, the inventory was made for part of the area of the Republic of Srpska. An innovative approach was adopted for conservation of plant genetic resources by means of long-term seed preservation, in vitro conservation, morphological and molecular characterisation, as well as regular database updates. Contacts were established with producers for the purpose of on farm protection of local ecotypes and populations. An ex situ collection was established in the Botanic Garden for plant species that can not be conserved in the form of seeds. By the end of 2011, the Gene Bank had reached its full operation with 455 accessions in long-term storage (-18oC), around 150 accessions in the working collection and 100 accessions in the field collection. With its 91 accessions, the Genetic Resources Institute is part of a European web-based catalogue of inventories of plant genetic resources (EURISCO). Having adopted the Programme, the Republic of Srpska has not only fulfilled one of the world's peremptory obligations to conserve biodiversity of agricultural crops, but also a moral obligation to future generations

Genetic Diversity and Demographic History of Wild and Cultivated/Naturalised Plant Populations: Evidence from Dalmatian Sage (Salvia officinalis L., Lamiaceae).

Dalmatian sage (Salvia officinalis L., Lamiaceae) is a well-known aromatic and medicinal Mediterranean plant that is native in coastal regions of the western Balkan and southern Apennine Peninsulas and is commonly cultivated worldwide. It is widely used in the food, pharmaceutical and cosmetic industries. Knowledge of its genetic diversity and spatiotemporal patterns is important for plant breeding programmes and conservation. We used eight microsatellite markers to investigate evolutionary history of indigenous populations as well as genetic diversity and structure within and among indigenous and cultivated/naturalised populations distributed across the Balkan Peninsula. The results showed a clear separation between the indigenous and cultivated/naturalised groups, with the cultivated material originating from one restricted geographical area. Most of the genetic diversity in both groups was attributable to differences among individuals within populations, although spatial genetic analysis of indigenous populations indicated the existence of isolation by distance. Geographical structuring of indigenous populations was found using clustering analysis, with three sub-clusters of indigenous populations. The highest level of gene diversity and the greatest number of private alleles were found in the central part of the eastern Adriatic coast, while decreases in gene diversity and number of private alleles were evident towards the northwestern Adriatic coast and southern and eastern regions of the Balkan Peninsula. The results of Ecological Niche Modelling during Last Glacial Maximum and Approximate Bayesian Computation suggested two plausible evolutionary trajectories: 1) the species survived in the glacial refugium in southern Adriatic coastal region with subsequent colonization events towards northern, eastern and southern Balkan Peninsula; 2) species survived in several refugia exhibiting concurrent divergence into three genetic groups. The insight into genetic diversity and structure also provide the baseline data for conservation of S. officinalis genetic resources valuable for future breeding programmes

Isolation by distance analysis among 23 indigenous Dalmatian sage populations.

<p>Isolation by distance analysis among 23 indigenous Dalmatian sage populations.</p

Ecological Niche Modelling of <i>Salvia officinalis</i> under (a) present, (b) Last Glacial Maximum CCSM conditions and (c) Last Glacial Maximum MIROC conditions.

<p>The colour codes indicate habitat suitability, from light blue (low suitability) to dark blue (high suitability) as calculated by the model.</p

Within-population microsatellite diversity and genetic relationships of 30 Dalmatian sage populations.

<p>Populations are numbered as for <a href="http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0159545#pone.0159545.t001" target="_blank">Table 1</a>. (A) Distribution of sampled populations: circles indicate indigenous populations; triangles indicate cultivated/naturalised populations. Symbol colours correspond to allelic richness (<i>N</i>_<i>ar</i>): white < 5, yellow 5–7, orange 7–9 and red >9. (B) Unrooted Fitch-Margoliash tree based on Cavalli-Sforza's chord distance. Bootstrap support values greater than 50% of 1,000 replicates are given near the branches.</p

Genetic structure of 30 Dalmatian sage populations as estimated by the software STRUCTURE.

<p>The population numbering corresponds to <a href="http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0159545#pone.0159545.t001" target="_blank">Table 1</a>. (A) Population structure assuming K = 4. (B) Proportions of membership for K = 2 to 4 clusters are given. Each individual plant is represented by a single vertical line divided into colours. Each colour represents one cluster, and the length of the coloured segment shows the individual’s estimated proportion of membership in that cluster. White lines separate populations that are labelled below the figure.</p

Analysis of molecular variance for the partitioning of microsatellite diversity.

<p>Analysis of molecular variance for the partitioning of microsatellite diversity.</p

Genetic Diversity and Demographic History of Wild and Cultivated/Naturalised Plant Populations: Evidence from Dalmatian Sage (Salvia officinalis L., Lamiaceae)

Dalmatian sage (Salvia officinalis L., Lamiaceae) is a well-known aromatic and medicinal Mediterranean plant that is native in coastal regions of the western Balkan and southern Apennine Peninsulas and is commonly cultivated worldwide. It is widely used in the food, pharmaceutical and cosmetic industries. Knowledge of its genetic diversity and spatiotemporal patterns is important for plant breeding programmes and conservation. We used eight microsatellite markers to investigate evolutionary history of indigenous populations as well as genetic diversity and structure within and among indigenous and cultivated/naturalised populations distributed across the Balkan Peninsula. The results showed a clear separation between the indigenous and cultivated/naturalised groups, with the cultivated material originating from one restricted geographical area. Most of the genetic diversity in both groups was attributable to differences among individuals within populations, although spatial genetic analysis of indigenous populations indicated the existence of isolation by distance. Geographical structuring of indigenous populations was found using clustering analysis, with three sub-clusters of indigenous populations. The highest level of gene diversity and the greatest number of private alleles were found in the central part of the eastern Adriatic coast, while decreases in gene diversity and number of private alleles were evident towards the northwestern Adriatic coast and southern and eastern regions of the Balkan Peninsula. The results of Ecological Niche Modelling during Last Glacial Maximum and Approximate Bayesian Computation suggested two plausible evolutionary trajectories: 1) the species survived in the glacial refugium in southern Adriatic coastal region with subsequent colonization events towards northern, eastern and southern Balkan Peninsula; 2) species survived in several refugia exhibiting concurrent divergence into three genetic groups. The insight into genetic diversity and structure also provide the baseline data for conservation of S. officinalis genetic resources valuable for future breeding programmes