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Inferring species relationships among Camellia chrysanthoides and its closely related species for developing conservation strategies
Author(s) -
Chen Hailing,
Liu Shangli,
Ye Quanqing,
Lu Yongbin,
Tang Shaoqing
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
plant species biology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.419
H-Index - 36
eISSN - 1442-1984
pISSN - 0913-557X
DOI - 10.1111/1442-1984.12320
Subject(s) - biology , chloroplast dna , endangered species , gene flow , nuclear dna , ex situ conservation , botany , nuclear gene , haplotype , threatened species , taxonomy (biology) , evolutionary biology , ecology , chloroplast , gene , genetics , genetic variation , genome , mitochondrial dna , genotype , habitat
Accurate species classification is important for developing conservation strategies for endangered species. Camellia chrysanthoides and its closely related species are currently threatened. However, the taxonomy of these species is complex and contentious. A total of 87 individuals from nine populations of C. chrysanthoides and its close relatives were collected and analyzed using two nuclear genes ( PAL and waxy ) and a chloroplast DNA fragment. Molecular and morphological evidence demonstrates that C. chrysanthoides and C. micrantha share floral traits and nuclear and chloroplast haplotypes, suggesting that they should be treated as a single species. Our nuclear results indicated that C. parvipetala is genetically close to C. chrysanthoides and C. micrantha . A barrier to gene flow between C. chrysanthoides and C. micrantha populations and the high number of private nuclear haplotypes in C. parvipetala suggest that C. chrysanthoides , C. micrantha and C. parvipetala should be recognized as three independent conservation units.