Genetic diversity and population structure of Juniperus foetidissima in Arasbaran: Implications for conservation using SCoT markers

Document Type : Research paper

Authors

1 Department of Biotechnology Research, Research institute of Forests and Rangelands, Agricultural Research, Education and Extension Organization (AREEO), Tehran, Iran.

2 Plant Breeding and Biotechnology Department, Faculty of Agriculture, University of Tabriz, Tabriz, Iran.

3 Department of Forestry, Ahar Faculty of Agriculture and Natural Resources, University of Tabriz, Tabriz, Iran.

Abstract

Foetid juniper (Juniperus foetidissima) is an important species within the Cupressaceae family, possessing considerable ecological and biological value. In Iran, J. foetidissima is found exclusively in the Arasbaran Biosphere Reserve. This study evaluated the genetic diversity and structure of eight J. foetidissima populations in the Arasbaran forest using six polymorphic SCoT markers, aiming to select genetically diverse individuals for establishing a seed orchard. A total of 118 polymorphic bands were generated using the six SCoT primers, indicating a 100% polymorphism rate and an average of 19.6 polymorphic bands per primer. The number of polymorphic bands per primer ranged from 13 to 29, with SCoT10 and SCoT11 amplifying the highest and lowest numbers of bands, respectively. The average polymorphic information content (PIC) across primers was 0.321, with SCoT41 exhibiting the highest PIC value of 0.378 and SCoT10 the lowest at 0.279. The average values of genetic diversity parameters—including the number of alleles (Na), effective number of alleles (Ne), Shannon’s information index (I), and expected heterozygosity (He)—were 1.23, 1.29, 0.287, and 0.184, respectively. Analysis of molecular variance (AMOVA) revealed that 87% of the observed genetic variation occurred within populations, while 13% was distributed among populations, indicating that genetic diversity within populations is more substantial than that among populations. The UPGMA clustering method grouped the 48 individuals from the eight populations into five distinct clusters. These findings provide valuable insights for the conservation, breeding, and management strategies of J. foetidissima.

Keywords

References

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History

  • Receive Date: 20 April 2025
  • Revise Date: 25 August 2025
  • Accept Date: 30 September 2025

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