Cavallari 2004 (Article) Encholirium

Estrutura Genética De Populações De Encholirium (Bromeliaceae) E Implicações Para Sua Conservação

Author(s):—M.M. Cavallari

Publication:— pp. . (2004)

Abstract:—Encholirium is a Brazilian genus of Bromeliaceae which occurs exclusively in rocky landscapes in areas of Cerrado, Caatinga and Atlantic Forest. It’s diversity center is located at Cadeia do Espinhaço, Minas Gerais State, Brazil. Of the 23 species of Encholirium, 12 are not protected by any Conservation Unit, occurring only in non-protected territories. The aim of this work was to generate baseline information to the conservation of three Encholirium species, endemic to the rocky mountains of “Cadeia do Espinhaço” in Minas Gerais state, through its populations genetic analyses. Information on genetic diversity and its distribution has a great potential in devising conservation strategies. E. pedicellatum and E. biflorum are known by only one population, both occurring in non-protected territories, being critically endangered. E. subsecundum is more widespread, and some of its populations are protected by Conservation Units. These three species reproduces clonally and seedling recruitment is apparently a rare event in natural populations. Samples of E. subsecundum were collected in four populations along 200 km. E. biflorum and E. pedicellatum were collected in the only known populations. The sampling process was made carefully in order to respect the natural distribution of individuals in “patches” or “colonies” within populations. Five Random Amplified Polymorphic DNA (RAPD) primers generated approximately 60 polymorphic bands for each species. This technique demonstrated that there is a single genotype for every individual sampled (except for one clone found in E. biflorum). High levels of genetic variability were not expected, due to the clonal growth, homogeneous morphology of the plants, and small populations size. The percentage of polymorphic bands and the Shannon-Wiener diversity index showed that E. subsecundum has higher levels of genetic diversity, followed by E. biflorum. The results of an Analysis of Molecular Variance (AMOVA) showed that the populations of E. biflorum and E. pedicellatum are strongly struturated at the patches level. In E. biflorum, 16.06% (Fst= 0.16) of the total genetic diversity resided among the patches of the population, which are, on the average, 11.6 m separated, whereas in E. pedicellatum 8.44% (Fst = 0.08) of the total genetic diversity was attributable to the differences among patches, which are, on the average, 88 m apart. In E. subsecundum, 14.52% (Fst = 0.15) of the total genetic diversity resided among populations, which are, on the average, 116.6 km separated. The results are valuable to the development of conservation strategies, in particular to guide future samplings to compose germoplasm banks.