Phenotypic and genotypic diversity in brant oak (Quercus brantii) populations of declining north-Zagros forests using biochemical characteristics and molecular SCoT marker

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     Inter- and intra-population diversity of nine brant oak (Quercus brantii) populations, comprising of 125 genotypes from north-Zagros forests was investigated using start codon targeted (SCoT) molecular marker, and seed and leaf biochemical characteristics. Variance analysis of 12 biochemical properties disclosed significant inter-population differences for most of the estimated parameters. Principal component analysis (PCA) showed that the first three components contributed in 63% (seed) and 71% (leaf) of revealed phenotypic diversity. Cluster analysis of phenotypic data grouped the studied populations into three distinct main clusters. Ten SCoT primers amplified 118 amplicons, of which 113 products (95%) were polymorphic. The primers revealed a high genetic diversity at species level (He =0.231; PPL% = 95.7%). Analysis of molecular variance attributed only 23% of total revealed genetic diversity to intra-population diversity. Low-level genetic differentiation of populations seemed to be due to extensive gene flow by wind-pollination of the populations, which occurs naturally on oaks. SCoT markers-based cluster analysis divided the Q. brantii’s populations into distinct groups. According to Mantel’s test, there was no significant correlation between genetic and geographic distances among the studied populations. In conclusion, this study indicated that both phonotypic and molecular markers could be useful to conduct studies when investigating the geographic pattern of genetic diversity of oak natural populations.

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