Environmental heterogeneity decides bio-heterogeneity of the Spiraea japonica complex (Rosaceae) in China
Zhaoyang Zhang A , Ning Du A , Chunxia Pu A , Zhijian Gu A and Zhekun Zhou A BA Kunming Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming 650204, China.
B Corresponding author. Email: zhouzk@mail.kib.ac.cn
Australian Journal of Botany 56(1) 91-95 https://doi.org/10.1071/BT07111
Submitted: 14 June 2007 Accepted: 1 October 2007 Published: 7 February 2008
Abstract
Amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP) fingerprint was the measure used to reveal the patterns of genetic variation within the Spiraea japonica L. f. complex, in the context of physical environment differentiation stemming from the Himalaya–Tibet plateau uplift, the most significant geological event in eastern Asia since the late Paleocene. The complex displays obvious genetic heterogeneity among geographic populations, which was greater in south-western China than in eastern China. The uplift of the Himalaya–Tibet plateau, and consequent increase in environmental complexity in south-western China, is presumed to be responsible for this genetic structure. The obvious genetic heterogeneity among populations or varieties of the S. japonica complex indicates that the rich biodiversity in south-western China is possibly based on genetic variation, suggesting that the biodiversity centre of south-western China represents a tremendous gene pool. It also supports the idea that the protected area and conservation investment made in south-western China should be further augmented. In addition, the greater genetic heterogeneity displayed by plants in south-western China suggests that conservation plans in this region should be more inclusive than those in eastern China.
Acknowledgements
We are grateful to Professor Gong Xun for generously providing conditions to keep the cultivated plants, and to two anonymous reviewers for making great improvements on the manuscript. This study was financially supported by Xibuzhiguang Project of CAS, National Basic Research Program of China 2007CB411601, the Natural Science Foundation Project of Yunnan 2004C0021G and National Natural Science Foundation Project of China 30270120.
Bassam BJ,
Caetano-Anolle SG, Greshoff PM
(1991) Fast and sensitive silver staining of DNA in polyacrylamide gels. Analytical Biochemistry 196, 80–83.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | PubMed |
Chang DHS
(1983) The Tibetan Plateau in relation to the vegetation of China. Annals of the Missouri Botanical Garden 70, 564–570.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Doyle JJ, Doyle JL
(1987) A rapid DNA isolation procedure for small quantities of fresh leaf material. Phytochemistry Bulletin 19, 11–15.
Excoffier L,
Smouse PE, Quattro JM
(1992) Analysis of molecular variance inferred from metric distance among DNA haplotypes, application to human mitochondrial DNA restriction data. Genetics 131, 479–491.
| PubMed |
Tanai T
(1992) Tertiary vegetation history of east Asia. Mizunami Fossil Museum Bulletin 19, 125–163.
Vos P,
Hogers R,
Bleeker M,
Reijans M,
Lee TVD,
Hornes M,
Frijters A,
Pot J,
Peleman J,
Kuiper M, Zabeau M
(1995) AFLP: a new technique for DNA fingerprinting. Nucleic Acids Research 23, 4407–4414.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | PubMed |
Wang WM
(1994) Paleofloristic and paleoclimatic implications of Neogene palynofloras in China. Review of Palaeobotany and Palynology 82, 239–250.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Wu CY
(1979) The regionalization of Chinese flora. Acta Botanica Yunnanica 1, 1–22.
