Abstract:

To estimate genetic diversity and genetic structure of <i>Acer ginnala</i> at different elevations,eight natural populations in Qiliyu from 1 200 m to 2 000 m were surveyed using ISSR markers. At species level,a total of 78 reproducible DNA loci were yielded by 11 primers,and all of them were polymorphic,accounting for the percentage of polymorphic loci being 100%. Among the populations investigated,the total gene diversity <i>I</i>,<i>H</i>_B equaled 0.507 and 0.368 respectively,indicating a high genetic diversity occurred within <i>A. ginnala</i>. The amount of genetic variation of eight populations exhibited an increase along the elevation gradient. AMOVA showed that 25.7% of the total genetic variation existed among populations and 74.3% within populations (<i>Φ</i>_ST=0.257,<i>P</i><0.001). Regression analysis revealed significant relationships happened between the genetic diversity index and soil moisture content,soil total nitrogen respectively. The eight populations of <i>A. ginnala</i> were clustered into two groups based on PCoA and STRUCTURE analysis,which was consistent with their geographic distribution. The genetic variation pattern of <i>A. ginnala</i> in Qiliyu might be ascribed to heterogeneous habitats and biological characteristic of this species.

Key words: <, i>, Acer ginnala<, /i>, elevation gradient, genetic diversity, genetic structure, ISSR