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Genetic diversity of an endangered plant, Cypripedium macranthos var. rebunense (Orchidaceae): background genetic research for future conservation

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Abstract

Cypripedium macranthos var. rebunense is an endangered plant endemic to Rebun Island, Japan. A proper understanding of genetic diversity is needed when conducting conservation programs for rare and endangered species. We therefore examined the genetic diversity of C. macranthos var. rebunense using allozyme markers with a view to future conservation. Our study revealed that C. macranthos var. rebunense has relatively high genetic diversity (P was 0.62, n a and n e were 1.85 and 1.28 respectively, and H o and H e were 0.163 and 0.187, respectively) when compared with other plant taxa. The natural habitats of C. macranthos var. rebunense are geographically separated into northern and the southern populations. Disappearance of alleles and increase in homozygosity expected as a result of the bottleneck effect were observed, particularly in the southern populations composed of a small number of plants. As additional negative effects (inbreeding depression and further genetic drift) due to fragmentation are predicted in these populations, the southern populations may show deterioration of genetic diversity in the near future.

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Acknowledgements

We thank M. Somata, S. Miyamoto, Y. Saito and other islanders for their kind help during the fieldwork on Rebun Island. We also thank Soya Forestry Management Office and Rebun Town. The first author thanks Y. Sato, Y. Kato, G. Sarwar and T. Lackner for their help during fieldwork and grammatical revision of the manuscript. This study was supported by the Ministry of Environment of Japan (Kogai-boshi-to shiken kenkyu) and the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology of Japan (Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research, 16310157).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Systematic Botany, Graduate school of agriculture, Hokkaido University, Sapporo, 060-0810, Japan

    Takeshi Izawa

  2. Hokkaido Research Center, Forestry and Forest Research Institute, Sapporo, 062-8516, Japan

    Takayuki Kawahara

  3. Section of Fundamental and Curatorial Studies, Hokkaido University Museum, Hokkaido University, Sapporo, 060-0810, Japan

    Hideki Takahashi

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  1. Takeshi Izawa
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  2. Takayuki Kawahara
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Correspondence to Takeshi Izawa.

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Izawa, T., Kawahara, T. & Takahashi, H. Genetic diversity of an endangered plant, Cypripedium macranthos var. rebunense (Orchidaceae): background genetic research for future conservation. Conserv Genet 8, 1369–1376 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10592-007-9287-1

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