Genetic monitoring for effective plant conservation: An example using the threatened Saxifraga hirculus L. in Scotland
Societal Impact Statement Many mountain plants persist in small, isolated patches on the verge of extinction. Observational methods of monitoring these populations, such as recording the number of flowering stems, do not indicate the number of genetically distinct individuals, which is crucial infor...
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Online Access: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/ppp3.10456 https://nph.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1002/ppp3.10456 |
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crwiley:10.1002/ppp3.10456 2024-06-02T08:10:16+00:00 Genetic monitoring for effective plant conservation: An example using the threatened Saxifraga hirculus L. in Scotland Finger, Aline Macdonald, Iain Hollingsworth, Peter M. Scottish Natural Heritage 2023 http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/ppp3.10456 https://nph.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1002/ppp3.10456 en eng Wiley http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ PLANTS, PEOPLE, PLANET volume 6, issue 2, page 381-398 ISSN 2572-2611 2572-2611 journal-article 2023 crwiley https://doi.org/10.1002/ppp3.10456 2024-05-03T10:53:35Z Societal Impact Statement Many mountain plants persist in small, isolated patches on the verge of extinction. Observational methods of monitoring these populations, such as recording the number of flowering stems, do not indicate the number of genetically distinct individuals, which is crucial information for conserving small populations. Here, the rate of clonal reproduction and number of genetic individuals were measured in the threatened Saxifraga hirculus in Scotland. These methods showed that population size is a poor proxy for genotype diversity and identified highly diverse small populations that may otherwise have been overlooked. This highlights the necessity of using genetic data to ensure the successful conservation of threatened plants. Summary Habitat fragmentation and loss increase the isolation of plant populations, increasing the occurrence of within population reproduction, and the potential for negative genetic effects, such as inbreeding depression and loss of genetic diversity. We use the European protected Marsh Saxifrage ( Saxifraga hirculus ) in Scotland as an example for declining perennial plants and the genetic resources they encapsulate. S. hirculus has declined due to agricultural intensification, drainage, industrial afforestation and grazing. The species can spread by seed or vegetatively through the production of rhizomes. Flowering is rare though due to grazing, which limits sexual reproduction and gene flow. An almost complete genetic inventory of Scottish populations was done using 11 microsatellite markers. Furthermore, archived DNA samples were used to document temporal genetic changes. We showed that clonal growth is predominant in some populations and genetic diversity ( H S and allelic richness) is relatively high. However, the number of genetically distinct individuals (genets) per population is extremely low (3–34). Archived DNA samples showed that some populations consist of the same few genets with no evidence for turnover. Thus, while clonal growth may have helped the ... Article in Journal/Newspaper Marsh Saxifrage Saxifraga hirculus Wiley Online Library PLANTS, PEOPLE, PLANET 6 2 381 398 |
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Societal Impact Statement Many mountain plants persist in small, isolated patches on the verge of extinction. Observational methods of monitoring these populations, such as recording the number of flowering stems, do not indicate the number of genetically distinct individuals, which is crucial information for conserving small populations. Here, the rate of clonal reproduction and number of genetic individuals were measured in the threatened Saxifraga hirculus in Scotland. These methods showed that population size is a poor proxy for genotype diversity and identified highly diverse small populations that may otherwise have been overlooked. This highlights the necessity of using genetic data to ensure the successful conservation of threatened plants. Summary Habitat fragmentation and loss increase the isolation of plant populations, increasing the occurrence of within population reproduction, and the potential for negative genetic effects, such as inbreeding depression and loss of genetic diversity. We use the European protected Marsh Saxifrage ( Saxifraga hirculus ) in Scotland as an example for declining perennial plants and the genetic resources they encapsulate. S. hirculus has declined due to agricultural intensification, drainage, industrial afforestation and grazing. The species can spread by seed or vegetatively through the production of rhizomes. Flowering is rare though due to grazing, which limits sexual reproduction and gene flow. An almost complete genetic inventory of Scottish populations was done using 11 microsatellite markers. Furthermore, archived DNA samples were used to document temporal genetic changes. We showed that clonal growth is predominant in some populations and genetic diversity ( H S and allelic richness) is relatively high. However, the number of genetically distinct individuals (genets) per population is extremely low (3–34). Archived DNA samples showed that some populations consist of the same few genets with no evidence for turnover. Thus, while clonal growth may have helped the ... |
author2 |
Scottish Natural Heritage |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Finger, Aline Macdonald, Iain Hollingsworth, Peter M. |
spellingShingle |
Finger, Aline Macdonald, Iain Hollingsworth, Peter M. Genetic monitoring for effective plant conservation: An example using the threatened Saxifraga hirculus L. in Scotland |
author_facet |
Finger, Aline Macdonald, Iain Hollingsworth, Peter M. |
author_sort |
Finger, Aline |
title |
Genetic monitoring for effective plant conservation: An example using the threatened Saxifraga hirculus L. in Scotland |
title_short |
Genetic monitoring for effective plant conservation: An example using the threatened Saxifraga hirculus L. in Scotland |
title_full |
Genetic monitoring for effective plant conservation: An example using the threatened Saxifraga hirculus L. in Scotland |
title_fullStr |
Genetic monitoring for effective plant conservation: An example using the threatened Saxifraga hirculus L. in Scotland |
title_full_unstemmed |
Genetic monitoring for effective plant conservation: An example using the threatened Saxifraga hirculus L. in Scotland |
title_sort |
genetic monitoring for effective plant conservation: an example using the threatened saxifraga hirculus l. in scotland |
publisher |
Wiley |
publishDate |
2023 |
url |
http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/ppp3.10456 https://nph.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1002/ppp3.10456 |
genre |
Marsh Saxifrage Saxifraga hirculus |
genre_facet |
Marsh Saxifrage Saxifraga hirculus |
op_source |
PLANTS, PEOPLE, PLANET volume 6, issue 2, page 381-398 ISSN 2572-2611 2572-2611 |
op_rights |
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1002/ppp3.10456 |
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PLANTS, PEOPLE, PLANET |
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6 |
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2 |
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381 |
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398 |
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