Relationships among some pines from subgenera Pinus and Strobus revealed by nuclear EST-microsatellites

Abstract

Genetic relationships among 12 taxa from subgenera Pinus and Strobus were studied through fourteen microsatellite markers, previously developed for Pinus taeda. To our knowledge, this is the first comparative study of pines using nuclear EST-microsatellites (EST-SSRs). The total number of detected alleles in all investigated taxa was 72 (5.14 in average). The numbers of alleles per locus and PIC values for estimated markers ranged from 3 to 7, and from 0.43 to 0.81, respectively. Presented results are in accordance with majority of previous genetic investigations and infrageneric classification of genus Pinus up to the sectional level, while subsectional position of some species has still not dismissed, especially regarding relict ones. According to nuclear EST-SSRs, Pinus heldreichii is in early-diverging position within subsection Pinaster and shows the greatest closeness with P. halepensis, while Pinus peuce doesn't have basal position within subsection Strobus being more close to P. strobus than to P. wallichiana. Furthermore, the closest connections in subsection Pinus were found between two Pinus nigra subspecies (dalmatica and nigra) as well as between P. sylvestris and P. mugo.