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.