Quercus pubescens s.l. is a group of taxonomically intricate and highly debated deciduous white oaks widely distributed in southern Europe. The Apulia Region occupies the south-easternmost part of the Italian Peninsula, the land-use pattern is based on extensive agricultural systems and only 10% is covered by forests and these latter are mainly composed of oak woods. It is the Region in Italy showing the highest number of oak species, among which four putative species of Quercus pubescens group, have been reported into floras and checklists with uncertain taxonomic value because of the overlapping of phytognostic characters. In this paper we carried out a molecular analysis on natural populations of Q. pubescens s.l. distributed throughout the whole Apulian region. Individuals from 24 pubescent-oaks populations were sampled and each tree was genotyped at 11 polymorphic microsatellite markers. Overall, the average expected heterozygosity (He) was 0.679 and the allelic richness (Ar) ranged between 3.865 and 5.171. The mean inbreeding coefficient (FIS) was 0.094. No differentiation was observed among the populations investigated, and the genetic differentiation coefficient (FST) was 0.036. Gene flow among populations was found to be relatively high (Nm = 6.664). From a taxonomic point of view, the possibility of the coexistence of more than one species among the Apulian pubescent-oaks, as reported in the taxonomic and syntaxonomic literature, was not supported by the results of our molecular analysis.
Preliminary characterization of the Quercus pubescens complex in southern Italy using molecular markers
Paola Fortini
;Piera Di Marzio;
2020-01-01
Abstract
Quercus pubescens s.l. is a group of taxonomically intricate and highly debated deciduous white oaks widely distributed in southern Europe. The Apulia Region occupies the south-easternmost part of the Italian Peninsula, the land-use pattern is based on extensive agricultural systems and only 10% is covered by forests and these latter are mainly composed of oak woods. It is the Region in Italy showing the highest number of oak species, among which four putative species of Quercus pubescens group, have been reported into floras and checklists with uncertain taxonomic value because of the overlapping of phytognostic characters. In this paper we carried out a molecular analysis on natural populations of Q. pubescens s.l. distributed throughout the whole Apulian region. Individuals from 24 pubescent-oaks populations were sampled and each tree was genotyped at 11 polymorphic microsatellite markers. Overall, the average expected heterozygosity (He) was 0.679 and the allelic richness (Ar) ranged between 3.865 and 5.171. The mean inbreeding coefficient (FIS) was 0.094. No differentiation was observed among the populations investigated, and the genetic differentiation coefficient (FST) was 0.036. Gene flow among populations was found to be relatively high (Nm = 6.664). From a taxonomic point of view, the possibility of the coexistence of more than one species among the Apulian pubescent-oaks, as reported in the taxonomic and syntaxonomic literature, was not supported by the results of our molecular analysis.I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.
