Patterns of genetic variation in in and ex situ populations of the threatened chilean vine Berberidopsis corallina, detected using RAPD markers

Abstract

Berberidopsis corallina Hook. f. (Berberidopsidaceae) is a threatened vine, endemic to the temperate rainforests of southern Chile. A RAPD analysis was carried out to assess the extent of genetic variation in remaining wild populations and in British cultivated plants, to assess the value of the latter for ex situ conservation. A total of 90 individuals (54 wild, 35 cultivated) were analysed, and a total of 54 polymorphic bands produced. A pairwise distance measure calculated from the RAPD data was used as input for principal coordinate analysis (PCO) and analysis of molecular variance (AMOVA). AMOVA indicated that an exceptionally high proportion of total genetic variation (54-8 %) was recorded among populations; pairwise ΦST comparisons showed that all the populations examined were significantly (P < 0.002) different. PCO analysis highlighted clear differentiation between wild populations from the north and south of the natural range, further supported by a UPGMA dendrogram based on