Genetic diversity of Adesmia bijuga Phil., an endangered Fabaceae species from Central Chile

Abstract

Adesmia (Fabaceae) occurs broadly in South America, across different environmental conditions. Along with their ecological importance and potential as domesticated plants, some Adesmia species such as Adesmia bijuga Phil., endemic for Chile, are considered endangered. Current information about the genetic diversity harbored in the remaining populations is scarce. In that context, we carried out an analysis based on ISSR markers, aimed to characterize its genetic variation in three localities in Central Chile. Overall genetic differentiation among the three analyzed populations was low (ΦPT = 0.053; P value < 0.001), with genetic variation concentrated mainly within populations. The expected heterozygosity (He) ranged from 0.22 to 0.24, whereas Shannon’s Information Index (I) varied from 0.36 to 0.39, for the analyzed populations. The examination of the population structure detected variation patterns corresponding to geographical distribution of populations. Results indicate the presence of low population differentiation and moderate genetic diversity, which is consistent with the fragmented habitat and reduced geographical range of A. bijuga.