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The phylogeographic structure and conservation genetics of the endangered tree peony, Paeonia rockii (Paeoniaceae), inferred from chloroplast gene sequences

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Abstract

The endangered species Paeonia rockii is the most important ancestral species of the cultivated tree peonies. These well-known ornamental plants are termed the ‘King of Flowers’ in China. In this study, we investigated the genetic diversity and phylogeographic structure of 335 wild samples from 20 populations throughout the entire distributional range of the species based on three chloroplast DNA sequences (petB–petD, rps16–trnQ and psbA–trnH). At those loci, high levels of genetic differentiation (G ST  = 0.94) and low levels of genetic variation (θ = 0.00185) were detected. The intraspecific phylogeny revealed four groups, the western group, the Taibai mountain group, the northern group and the eastern group, which closely coincided with the geographic distribution of the species. A phylogeographic structure of this kind could result from a number of integrated factors, such as allopatric fragmentation, climatic fluctuations, increased abortion and declining germination of seeds, or lack of gene flow among populations, especially across the geographic barrier of the high Qinling Mountains, and it could also result from adaptive evolution. For conservation purposes, each extant population of P. rockii should be recognized as a conservation-significant unit, and a more stringent conservation strategy should incorporate in situ and ex situ methods.

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Acknowledgments

We are grateful to three anonymous reviews and Dr. Rehan Naeem for critically reviewing the previous manuscript, providing insightful comments, and great help in English revision. We also deeply thank Mr. Jiajue Li, Dr. Jia Wang, Mrs. Yaling Tian, Mr. Jianhong Wang and the administrative staff of Gansu Forestry system for their help during the sample collection and field work. This study was funded by the Key Project of Science and Technology of State Forestry Administration of China (2006–40).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Landscape Architecture College of Bei**g Forestry University, No. 35 Tsinghua Eastern Road, Haidian District, Bei**g, 100083, China

    Jun-hui Yuan & Fang-Yun Cheng

  2. National Flower Engineering Research Center, Key Laboratory for the Genetic and Breeding of Forestry Trees and Ornamental Plants, Bei**g, 100083, China

    Fang-Yun Cheng

  3. State Key Laboratory of Systematic and Evolutionary Botany, Institute of Botany, The Chinese Academy of Sciences, No. 20 Nanxincun, **angshan, Bei**g, 100093, China

    Shi-Liang Zhou

  4. Gansu Forestry Technological College, Tianshui, Gansu, 741020, China

    Jun-hui Yuan

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  1. Jun-hui Yuan
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  2. Fang-Yun Cheng
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  3. Shi-Liang Zhou
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Correspondence to Fang-Yun Cheng.

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Yuan, Jh., Cheng, FY. & Zhou, SL. The phylogeographic structure and conservation genetics of the endangered tree peony, Paeonia rockii (Paeoniaceae), inferred from chloroplast gene sequences. Conserv Genet 12, 1539–1549 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10592-011-0251-8

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