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. 2019 Nov 6:7:e8002.
doi: 10.7717/peerj.8002. eCollection 2019.

Spatial genetic structure in Pinus cembroides Zucc. at population and landscape levels in central and northern Mexico

Luis C García-Zubia  1 , Javier Hernández-Velasco  1 , José C Hernández-Díaz  1 , Sergio L Simental-Rodríguez  1 , Carlos A López-Sánchez  2 , Carmen Z Quiñones-Pérez  3 , Artemio Carrillo-Parra  1 , Christian Wehenkel  1
Affiliations

Spatial genetic structure in Pinus cembroides Zucc. at population and landscape levels in central and northern Mexico

Luis C García-Zubia et al. PeerJ. .

Abstract

Background: Spatial genetic structure (SGS) analysis is a powerful approach to quantifying gene flow between trees, thus clarifying the functional connectivity of trees at population and landscape scales. The findings of SGS analysis may be useful for conservation and management of natural populations and plantations. Pinus cembroides is a widely distributed tree species, covering an area of about 2.5 million hectares in Mexico. The aim of this study was to examine five natural seed stands of P. cembroides in the Sierra Madre Occidental to determine the SGS at population (within the seed stand) and landscape (among seed stands) levels in order to establish guidelines for the conservation and management of the species. We hypothesized that P. cembroides, in which the seeds are dispersed by birds and mammals, creates weaker SGS than species with wind-dispersed seeds.

Methods: DNA fingerprinting was performed using the amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP) technique. In order to estimate the SGS at population and landscape levels, we measured the geographical (spatial) distance as the Euclidean distance. We also estimated the genetic distances between individuals using the pairwise kinship coefficient.

Results: The results showed non-significant autocorrelation in four out of five seed stands studied (i.e., a mainly random distribution in the space of the genetic variants of P. cembroides at population level).

Discussion: SGS was detected at the landscape scale, supporting the theory of isolation by distance as a consequence of restricted pollen and seed dispersal. However, the SGS may also have been generated by our sampling strategy. We recommended establishing a close network of seed stands of P. cembroides to prevent greater loss of local genetic variants and alteration of SGS. We recommend seed stands of P. cembroides of a minimum width of 225 m.

Keywords: Gene flow; Isolation by distance; Seed stands; Sierra Madre Occidental.

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Conflict of interest statement

Christian Wehenkel is an Academic Editor for PeerJ.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1. Location of the five Pinus cembroides seed stands under study.
Mesa Azul (PC-MA): black diamond; Baquiriachi (PC-BQ): grey square; Mesa de la Majada (PC-MM): small white diamond; Los Adobe (PC-AD): grey circle and Cordón del Toro (PC-CT): white triangle. Source: Available in the ARCGIS software (at Esri, DigitalGlobe, GeoEye, Earthstar Geographics, CNES/Airbus DS, USDA, USGS, AEX, Getmapping, Aerogrid, IGN, IGP, swisstopo, and the GIS User Community). Maps were created using ArcGIS® software by Esri. Copyright ©Esri. All rights reserved.
Figure 2
Figure 2. Principal Coordinates Analysis (PCoA) (coordinate 1 vs. 2) showing the genetic separation between the five seed stands of Pinus cembroides: Location with abbreviation of seed stand name: Mesa Azul (PC-MA): grey diamond, Baquiriachi (PC-BQ): black square, Los Adobe (PC-AD): grey circle, Mesa de la Majada (PC-MM): white diamond and Cordón del Toro (PC-CT): grey triangle.
Figure 3
Figure 3. Principal Coordinates Analysis (PCoA) (coordinate 1 vs. 3) showing the genetic separation between the five Pinus cembroides seed stands: Mesa Azul (PC-MA): grey diamond, Baquiriachi (PC-BQ): black square, Los Adobe (PC-AD): grey circle, Mesa de la Majada (PC-MM): white diamond and Cordón del Toro (PC-CT): grey triangle.
Figure 4
Figure 4. Principal Coordinates Analysis (PCoA) (coordinate 1 vs. 3) showing the genetic separation between the individuals in the five Pinus cembroides seed stands: Mesa Azul (PC-MA): grey diamond, Baquiriachi (PC-BQ): black square, Los Adobe (PC-AD): grey circle, Mesa de la Majada (PC-MM): white diamond and Cordón del Toro (PC-CT): grey triangle.
Figure 5
Figure 5. Map of the Pinus cembroides seed stand Mesa Azul (PC-MA) and the positions of the 34 sample trees genetically analyzed (black circles).
Source: ESRI Inc. (1999–2012). ArcGIS for Desktop 10. USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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