Genetic diversity assessment of wild plants with extremely small populations of Chieniodendron hainanense in the fragmented habitat in Hainan

Habitat fragmentation reduces species' range, making small populations highly vulnerable to extinction due to environmental, demographic, and genetic factors. Chieniodendron hainanense (hereafter C. hainanense) is a wild plant with extremely small populations (WPESP). The specie is an endangered plant that requires urgent national protection. Understanding the genetic diversity of C. hainanense is critically important for revealing the mechanisms and protection strategies. In this study, 35 samples from six different cohort groups were genotyped using genotyping-sequencing (GBS) and single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) techniques.

生境破碎化会缩减物种的分布范围，导致小型种群极易受环境、种群统计及遗传因素影响而濒临灭绝。海南坚木（Chieniodendron hainanense，下文简称C. hainanense）是一种极小种群野生植物（wild plant with extremely small populations, WPESP），该物种为濒危植物，亟需国家级保护。解析海南坚木的遗传多样性，对揭示其濒危机制与制定保护策略具有关键意义。本研究采用基因分型测序（genotyping-sequencing, GBS）与单核苷酸多态性（single nucleotide polymorphism, SNP）技术，对来自6个不同同生群的35份样本开展了基因分型分析。