Genetic diversity, mating system and pollen flow in two populations of Tabebuia roseo-alba (Ridl.) Sand.: Implications for conservation

Tabebuia roseo-alba (Ridl.) Sand. (ipê branco) é uma árvore semidecídua que floresce abundantemente entre os meses de Agosto e Setembro. Valiosa pela qualidade de sua madeira, bem como por sua capacidade de ornamentação, esta espécie tem sido largamente utilizada em reflorestamentos e arborização urbana. A fragmentação florestal reduz o tamanho da população reprodutiva, a densidade populacional e pode isolar populações e indivíduos em campos e pastagens. Dessa forma, entender seus efeitos é fundamental para providenciar recomendações para conservação in situ e ex situ de espécies florestais. Assim, os objetivos desse trabalho foram: transferir, padronizar e caracterizar marcadores moleculares microssatélites previamente desenvolvidos em Tabebuia aurea para Tabebuia roseo-alba; avaliar a diversidade e divergência genética, o sistema reprodutivo e o fluxo de pólen em duas populações de T. roseo-alba submetidas a diferentes condições de preservação localizadas em área urbana no município de Ribeirão Preto- SP e ambiente natural em Selvíria-MS. Para isso, sementes de polinização aberta derivadas de árvores matrizes procedentes das duas populações em estudo foram coletadas. Todas as amostras tiveram seu DNA extraído e amplificado com oito pares de microssatélites heterólogos. As análises mostraram que todos os locos avaliados apresentaram herança mendeliana simples e segregam independentes, sendo, portanto, adequados para estudos de sistema de cruzamento, estrutura genética de populações e análise de paternidade. Também foi constatado que as duas populações têm elevada diversidade genética (He variando de 0,743 a 0,835) sendo as amostras de Selvíria mais diversas. Os níveis de divergência genética entre as populações foram altos e com tendência a aumentar quando comparadas as gerações de progênies. A análise do sistema de cruzamento, permitiu afirmar que as populações estudadas são mistas ( m t Ribeirão Preto = 0,840 e m t Selvíria = 0,963) com maior probabilidade de aumento na autofecundação nas árvores isoladas da população urbana. Significantes desvios do cruzamento aleatório foram observados através do cruzamento entre parentes e cruzamentos correlacionados entre e dentro de frutos, indicando endogamia nas populações. O número efetivo de doadores de pólen foi muito baixo para um mesmo fruto (1,21 em Ribeirão Preto e 1,50 em Selvíria) e mais alto entre frutos de uma mesma árvore (8,20 em Ribeirão Preto e 9,8 em Selvíria). A distância média do fluxo de pólen acessada pela análise TWOGENER foi baixa nas duas populações tanto para o modelo normal (35,4m em Ribeirão Preto e 57,3m em Selvíria) quanto para o exponencial (39,9m em Ribeirão Preto e 64,6m em Selvíria). Como o conhecimento da endogamia, cruzamentos correlacionados, autofecundação e estrutura genética espacial são fatores chave na tomada de decisões para a coleta de sementes e o plantio das mudas, estes resultados podem auxiliar programas de restauração florestal e conservação da espécie.Tabebuia roseo-alba (Ridl.) Sand (Guayacan blanco) is one semideciduous tree that blossoms massively between August and September. Valuable for the quality of its wood, as well as its ability to ornamentation, this species has been used in urban afforestation and reforestation. The forest fragmentation reduces the size of the reproductive population, population density and can isolate populations and individuals in fields and pastures. Thus, the knowledge of the fragmentation effects may be indispensable for successful tree species conservation, breeding and regeneration. So, the aims of this study were: transfer, standardize and characterize molecular markers microsatellites developed for Tabebuia aurea; assess the diversity and genetic divergence, the mating system and the flow of pollen in two populations of T. roseoalba in different preservation conditions in an urban area located in Ribeirao Preto- SP and in a natural environment from Selvíria-MS. Therefore, open-pollinated seeds derived from seed-trees coming from the two populations above were collected. All samples had their DNA extracted and amplified with eight pairs of heterologous microsatellites. The analysis showed that all assessed loci have simple Mendelian inheritance and independent segregation, and are, therefore, suitable for studies of mating system, genetic structure of populations and paternity analysis. It was also noted that the two populations have high genetic diversity (He ranging from 0.743 to 0.835) being Selvíria samples more diversified. The levels of genetic divergence among populations were high and with a tendency to increase when the generations of offspring were compared. The analysis of the mating system showed that the populations have a mixed-mating system ( m t Ribeirão Preto = 0.840 e m t Selvíria = 0.963) with an increasing of self-fertilization in isolated trees from the urban population. Significant deviations from random mating were observed through of mating among relatives and correlated matings among and within fruits, indicating inbreeding in the populations. The effective number of pollen donors was very low for the same fruit (1.21 in Ribeirão Preto and 1.50 in Selvíria) and higher among fruits of the same tree (8.20 in Ribeirão Preto and 9.8 in Selvíria ). The average distance of the pollen flow accessed by TWOGENER analysis was low in the two populations in both normal (35.4 m in Ribeirão Preto and 57.3 m in Selvíria) and exponential models (39.9 m in Ribeirão Preto and 64.6 m in Selvíria). As the knowledge of inbreeding, correlated matings, self-fertilization and spatial genetic structure are key factors to making decisions for the collection of seeds and planting seedlings, these results may help forest restoration programs and conservation of this species

Genetic Diversity, Gene Flow and Mating System of Anadenanthera colubrina (VELL.) Brenan and Anadenanthera peregrina (L.) Speg: Two Species that occur at a High Density in São Paulo State

Anadenanthera é um gênero botânico pertencente à família Mimosaceae e endêmico da América Latina e Caribe. Compreende duas espécies arbóreas tropicais: Anadenanthera colubrina (Vell.) Brenan. (angico, angico vermelho, angico branco, curupay) e Anadenanthera peregrina (L.) Speg. (angico, angico preto, angico de casca, angico do cerrado, yopo ou cohoba). As duas espécies são de ocorrência frequente na paisagem da região de Ribeirão Preto, apresentando-se em aglomerados quase monoespecíficos popularmente conhecidos como angicais. Visando contribuir para futuras medidas conservacionistas, o objetivo deste trabalho foi investigar a diversidade genética, o sistema de reprodução, a estrutura genética espacial e o fluxo gênico contemporâneo de A. colubrina e A. peregrina em angicais da Região de Ribeirão Preto SP usando como ferramenta de análise um conjunto de marcadores moleculares microssatélites (SSR). Para isso, foram construídas duas bibliotecas enriquecidas para microssatélites usando a espécie A. colubrina que resultaram em 20 marcadores SSR testados para a espécie e subsequentemente transferidos para A. peregrina. Desses 20 marcadores, 14 foram polimórficos em cada uma das espécies. Através dessa ferramenta molecular, foi possível realizar os estudos de diversidade genética, endogamia e distribuição genética espacial em A. colubrina e A. peregrina na região de Ribeirão Preto, que acusaram de uma maneira geral, muitas semelhanças entre as duas espécies, bem como entre os angicais de uma mesma espécie. A diferença mais marcante encontrada entre elas foi com relação a estrutura genética espacial, pois todos os angicais de A. colubrina apresentaram forte estruturação, enquanto que os de A. peregrina demonstraram ter uma dispersão aleatória dos indivíduos. O sistema reprodutivo e o fluxo de pólen nas duas espécies foi acessado usando sete marcadores moleculares microssatélites. Para essas análises foram genotipados indivíduos juvenis e adultos (totalizando 352 de A. colubrina e 355 de A. peregrina) presentes nos angicais Acol/PB, Aper/SP255 e Aper/Faz. Através das análises constatou-se que ambas as espécies tem sistema de acasalamento misto, embora A. colubrina tenha apresentado uma proporção maior de autofecundação (tm Acol = 0,619; tm Aper= 0,905). Também foram encontrados elevados índices de cruzamento entre parentes (tm-ts Acol = 0,159; tm-ts Aper = 0,216) e parentesco (coancestria), o que resultou num baixo tamanho efetivo populacional para ambas as espécies. As estimativas das taxas de cruzamentos multilocos individuais apresentaram grande variação nas duas espécies, mostrando a flexibilidade do sistema reprodutivo no gênero Anadenanthera. O número efetivo de doadores de pólen foi muito baixo para um mesmo fruto (1,10 em A. colubrina e 1,24 em A. peregrina) e mais alto entre frutos de uma mesma árvore (2,61 em A. colubrina e 3,35 em A. peregrina), usando a estimativa indireta de correlação de paternidade. Análises de paternidade revelaram distâncias de dispersão de pólen em duas escalas para ambas as espécies. Dessa forma, ocorreram muitos cruzamentos locais, entre árvores próximas no mesmo angical, mas também foram encontradas grandes distâncias de dispersão de pólen. A média da distância de dispersão em A. colubrina foi de 299,88 m e de 214,369 m em A. peregrina. Alto fluxo de pólen oriundo de árvores externas aos angicais de ambas as espécies foi detectado, indicando que os grupos não são isolados reprodutivamente. Por outro lado, o fluxo gênico crítico foi também muito elevado nas estimativas, provavelmente devido ao baixo poder de exclusão que os locos apresentaram dentro dos angicias de ambas as espécies.Anadenanthera is a genus of Mimosaceae that is endemic to Latin America and the West Indies and comprises two tropical tree species: Anadenanthera colubrina (Vell.) Brenan. (popularly known as angico, angico vermelho, angico branco or curupay) and Anadenanthera peregrina (L.) Speg. (angico, angico preto, angico de casca, angico do cerrado, yopo or cohoba). Both species are commonly found in the Ribeirão Preto region, usually as nearly monospecific agglomerates known as angicais. To aid future conservationist measures, this work investigated the genetic diversity, gene flow, spatial genetic structure and contemporary mating system of A. colubrina and A. peregrina in the angicais of Ribeirão Preto Region SP by analyzing a sample of simple sequence repeat markers (SSR). Two microsatellites libraries were created from A. colubrina, providing 20 SSR markers that were tested for that species and later applied to A. peregrina. Fourteen out of the 20 markers were polymorphic between the species, allowing an examination of the genetic diversity, endogamy and spatial genetic structure in A. colubrina and A. peregrina in the Ribeirão Preto region, which revealed several similarities between the two species, as well as among the angicais of a single species. The most remarkable difference between the species was related to the spatial genetic structure, as all angicais of A. colubrina presented strong structuration, whereas those of A. peregrina exhibited an aleatory dispersion of individuals. The mating system and pollen flow in both species were analyzed through seven SSR. Adults and juveniles from the angicais Acol/PB, Aper/SP255 and Aper/Faz were genotyped for those analyses (352 specimens of A. colubrina and 355 of A. peregrina), revealing that both species undergo a mixed mating system, although A. colubrina presented a higher percentage of self-mating (tm Acol = 0.619; tm Aper= 0.905). High indices of mating among relatives (tm-ts Acol = 0.159; tm-ts Aper = 0.216) and coancestry were also found, resulting in a low effective population size for both species. A wide range in the estimate of the mutilocus breeding rate was found for both species, reflecting the plasticity of the mating system in the genus Anadenanthera. The effective number of pollen donors was very low for a single fruit (1.10 in A. colubrina and 1.24 in A. peregrina) and higher between fruits from the same tree (2.61 in A. colubrina and 3.35 in A. peregrina), using an indirect estimate of the paternity correlation. Paternity analyses revealed the distance of pollen dispersion on two different scales: many local outcrossings (between close trees from the same angical) in addition to long-distance pollen dispersion. The average dispersion distance was 299.88 m in A. colubrina and 214.369 m in A. peregrina. A high pollen flux from trees outside the angicais of both species was observed, indicating a lack of reproductive isolation. However, the gene flow was also very high, likely due to the low power of exclusion presented by loci from both species inside the angicais

Transferability and characterization of nine microsatellite markers for the tropical tree species Tabebuia roseo-alba

Microsatellite loci that were previously developed in the tropical tree Tabebuia aurea were used for the genetic analysis of Tabebuia roseo-alba populations. Nine of 10 simple sequence repeat markers were amplified, and the polymorphism was assessed in 58 individuals sampled from two stands in southeastern Brazil. All loci were polymorphic with Mendelian inheritance. The allele numbers were high, ranging from 5 to 13 in population I and 3 to 7 in population II, with means of 8.9 and 5.5, respectively. We conclude that these markers can be efficiently used for parentage and gene-flow studies.FAPESP[03/04199-4/2004

Transferability and characterization of microsatellite markers in two Neotropical Ficus species

Microsatellite markers were transferred and characterized for two Neotropical fig tree species, Ficus citrifolia and Ficus eximia. Our study demonstrated that microsatellite markers developed from different subgenera of Ficus can be transferred to related species. In the present case, 12 of the 15 primer pairs tested (80%) were successfully transferred to both of the above species. Eleven loci were polymorphic when tested across 60 F. citrifolia and 60 F. eximia individuals. For F. citrifolia, there were 4 to 15 alleles per locus, whereas expected heterozygosities ranged from 0.31 to 0.91. In the case of F. eximia, this was 2 to 12 alleles per locus and expected heterozygosities from 0.42 to 0.87

DEVELOPMENT OF MICROSATELLITE MARKERS FOR ANADENANTHERA COLUBRINA (LEGUMINOSAE), A NEOTROPICAL TREE SPECIES

Premise of the study: We developed and characterized nuclear microsatellite markers for Anadenanthera colubrina, a tropical tree species widely distributed in South America. Methods and Results: Leaf samples of mature A. colubrina trees, popularly called "angico," were collected from an area that is greatly impacted by agricultural practices in the region of Ribeirao Preto in Sao Paulo State in southeastern Brazil. Twenty simple sequence repeat (SSR) markers were developed, 14 of which had polymorphic loci. A total of 96 alleles were detected with an average of 6.86 alleles per polymorphic locus. The expected heterozygosity, calculated at polymorphic loci, ranged from 0.18 to 0.83. Finally, we demonstrated that 18 loci were cross-amplified in A. peregrina. Conclusions: A total of 14 polymorphic markers suggest a high potential for genetic diversity, gene flow, and mating system analyses in A. colubrina.FAPESP [2009/14200-6]CNPq [PDS 150277/2009-1, PV 300140/2011-8

Depicting the mating system and patterns of contemporary pollen flow in trees of the genus Anadenanthera (Fabaceae)

Anadenanthera (Fabaceae) is endemic to the Neotropics and consists of two tree species: A. colubrina (Vell.) Brenan and A. peregrina (L.) Speg. This study examined the mating system and contemporary gene flow of A. colubrina (Acol) and A. peregrina (Aper) in a highly fragmented area of the Atlantic Forest to provide valuable information that informs conservation strategies. Reproductive adults from forest remnants [nA. colubrina = 30 (2.7 ha), nA. peregrina = 55 (4.0 ha)] and progeny-arrays (nA. colubrina = 322, nA. peregrina = 300) were genotyped for seven nuclear microsatellite markers. Mating system analyses revealed that A. colubrina is a mixed mating species (tm = 0.619) while A. peregrina is a predominantly outcrossing species (tm = 0.905). For both Anadenanthera species, high indices of biparental inbreeding were observed (Acol = 0.159, Aper = 0.216), resulting in low effective pollination neighborhood sizes. Categorical paternity analysis revealed different scales of pollen dispersal distance: the majority of crossings occurring locally (i.e., between nearby trees within the same population), with moderate pollen dispersal coming from outside the forest fragments boundaries (Acolmp = 30%, Apermp = 35%). Nevertheless, pollen immigration from trees outside the populations for both species suggests that the populations are not reproductively isolated. This study highlights the importance of evaluating both mating system and contemporary gene flow for a better understanding of the biology of Anadenanthera species. This information should be considered to ensure the effective conservation and management practices of these plant species

Microsatellite diversity and effective population size in a germplasm bank of Hymenaea courbaril var. stilbocarpa (Leguminosae), an endangered tropical tree: recommendations for conservation

Deforestation in southeast Brazil has led to the extinction of Hymenaea courbaril var. stilbocarpa and ex situ conservation has been established. In this study, the levels of genetic diversity and the effective population size of H. courbaril in a germplasm bank were investigated using six nuclear microsatellite loci. A total of 79 and 91 alleles were found in 65 seed-trees and their 176 offspring, respectively. Offspring have a higher average number of alleles per locus (A = 15.2) than seed-trees (A = 13.2), but lower observed heterozygosity (offspring: H (o) = 0.566; seed-trees: H (o) = 0.607). The estimate of outcrossing rate shows that the study population is perfectly outcrossed (t (m) = 0.978, P > 0.05). Significant deviations from random mating were detected through mating among relatives and correlated matings. The average variance in effective population size for each family was 2.63, with a total effective population size retained in the bank of 170.1. These results confirm that the preserved population of H. courbaril retains substantial genetic variability.FAPESP[03/04199-4]Sao Paulo University (USP)FAEPACAPE

Transferability and characterization of microsatellite markers in two

Microsatellite markers were transferred and characterized for two Neotropical fig tree species, Ficus citrifolia and Ficus eximia. Our study demonstrated that microsatellite markers developed from different subgenera of Ficus can be transferred to related species. In the present case, 12 of the 15 primer pairs tested (80%) were successfully transferred to both of the above species. Eleven loci were polymorphic when tested across 60 F. citrifolia and 60 F. eximia individuals. For F. citrifolia, there were 4 to 15 alleles per locus, whereas expected heterozygosities ranged from 0.31 to 0.91. In the case of F. eximia, this was 2 to 12 alleles per locus and expected heterozygosities from 0.42 to 0.87