| Abstract Detail
Conservation Biology Archambault, Annie [1], Pellerin, Stéphanie [2], Nault, Andrée [3], Joly, Simon [4]. Population genomics insights into the conservation of the North American ginseng (Panax quinquefolius L.) from a small geographic area in Canada. Genetic data play an increasingly important role in conservation because of the information it contains on demographics, population structure, migration, and genealogy. All these factors may come into consideration for conservation management of threatened species. For instance, genetically distinct groups within one species are sometimes considered as distinct ecological units for conservation. Genetic investigations that used to be costly and laborious are now possible, at reasonable costs, thanks to massively parallel sequencing technologies (commonly called next-generation sequencing, NGS), even for non-model species. Although the promises these technologies hold to address conservation questions has been acknowledged many times, there are surprisingly still few published examples. In this study, we aim at (1) quantifying the extent of population structure among eastern Canadian ginseng populations (Panax quinquefolius), a highly threatened species; and (2) proposing a simple protocol for applying massively parallel sequencing to non-model organisms for conservation purposes. For each six populations distant of a maximum 350 km one from another, ten individuals were sampled and a strategy similar to the CRoPS® technology to survey a random fraction of the genome was applied. Briefly, this resembled an AFLP protocol but, instead of being scored by length estimation, amplified fragments were sequenced on a Roche 454 genomic platform after receiving a MID-barcode, unique for each population. Using simple bioinformatics steps, stringent criteria were applied to isolate from the initial hundreds of thousand of sequences, those that are from the nuclear genome and that are not part of repeated elements or large gene families. The population structure among the ginseng population was quantified with a Bayesian hierarchical model (BAMOVA, that estimates loci specific and genome wide Õ statistics) on a reduced but high quality dataset of 751 alignments consisting of putative orthologs from all six populations. Results showed that more than 40% of the variation is explained among populations. Such a high value for among-population genetic structure generally supports previous studies on ginseng genetic diversity, although no studies have investigated population in such a small geographic area, and in the range of species distribution covered by ice during the last glaciation. The strong genetic structure revealed here among populations has implications for the management of the ginseng germplasm such as in reintroduction programs and for forest farming approaches. Broader Impacts:
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Related Links:
Quebec Centre for Biodiversity Science
1 - McGill University, Quebec Center For Biodiversity Science, Stewart Building, W6/19, 1205 Dr Penfield, Montréal, N/A, H3A 1B1, Canada
2 - Institut de recheche en biologie végétale, Jardin botanique de Montréal, 4101 Sherbrooke Est, Montréal, QC, 1X 2B2, Canada
3 - Biodôme de Montréal, Division de la recherche scientifique, 4777, avenue Pierre-De Coubertin, Montréal, QC, H1V 1B3, Canada
4 - Institut De Recherche En Biologie Végétale, 4101 CUE SHERBROOKE EST, Montréal, QC, H1X 2B2, Canada
Keywords:
Panax quinquefolius
population genetics
conservation
massively parallel sequencing.
Presentation Type: Poster:Posters for Topics
Session: P
Location: Grand Salon A - D/Riverside Hilton
Date: Monday, July 29th, 2013
Time: 5:30 PM
Number: PCB006
Abstract ID:854
Candidate for Awards:None |
