Genetic diversity of Korean endemic Pedicularis ishidoyana revealed by microsatellite markers

초록

Pedicularis ishidoyana (Orobanchaceae) is an endemic and endangered plant in Korea. It is found at only a few localities restricted to the lowland valley. In this study, we developed 18 microsatellite markers using NGS technology to infer genetic diversity of P. ishidoyana. Employing seven loci from the developed primers, we investigated genetic variability for 124 individuals of eight populations. The genetic diversity within populations was relatively high (HO=0.563). AMOVA results demonstrated high differentiation among the populations (21%), which were consistent with FST value (0.215). STRUCTURE analysis detected three groups with clear geographic differentiation (K=3), however, no significant isolation-by-distance relationship is revealed by mantel test (r=0.057, P<0.01). These results suggest that gene flow has been restricted among P. ishidoyana populations. The populations might have experienced repetitive expansion and isolation within the detected three geographic groups during the Quaternary.