Population genetic structure of Lilium japonicum and serpentine plant L. japonicum var. abeanum by using developed microsatellite markers

Abstract

We developed three new polymorphic microsatellite loci for the serpentine plant Lilium japonicum Thunb. var. abeanum (Honda) Kitam., one of the rarest plants in Japan. These markers were used to assess the genetic diversity of infraspecific taxa of L. japonicum (Liliaceae). To evaluate the levels and distribution of genetic variation of these plants, we studied 363 individuals from 34 localities in Japan. The populations showed relatively high genetic diversity and the main component of the genetic variance was within populations. Significant Mantel correlations showed the existence of isolation distance, revealing that the serpentine population in Tokushima was in particular genetically differentiated.

Keywords:

• Genetic structure
• infraspecifc species
• Lilium japonicum
• microsatellite analysis
• serpentine plant

Acknowledgments

The authors thank Dr. Shoko Sakai, Dr. Mayumi Sato, Dr. Ryo Tsujino, Dr. Hiromitsu Samejima, Dr. Taro Huchikawa, and Ms. Nozomi Tsujimura for their invaluable advice during this work. In the collection sample, we are very much obliged to Dr. Satoshi Yamaguchi, Mr. Nozomu Hujii, Mr. Seiji Yoshida, Mr. Yukio Nagai, Mr. Katumi Wahira, Mr. Yukio Kuraya, Mr. Satoshi Chiba, and Dr. Hidehiro Inagaki. Our thanks are also due to National Environment Preservation Division Environment and Forest Department Miyazaki Prefectural Government for its support. Financially this study was supported by Research Institute for Humanity and Nature, the Sasagawa Scientific Research Grant from The Japan Science Society, Osaka Gakuin University, and the Global Center of Excellence Program “Formation of a Strategic Base for Biodiversity and Evolutionary Research: From Genome to Ecosystem” of the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, and Technology (MEXT), Japan.