Genetic structure of Aporia hippia

The use of genetically closely related populations as reintroduction sources is crucial in restoration programmes for endangered species because genetically distant populations may cause genetic disturbances. Aporia hippia (Lepidoptera; Pieridae) is an endangered subalpine grassland butterfly in Japan and its distribution area is restricted to the Asama, Yatsugatake and Akaishi Mountains in central Honshu Island. In the Yatsugatake Mountains, its population is probably already extinct, and reintroduction from the other sites is now under consideration. Here, we estimated the genetic diversity and spatial genetic structure of A. hippia in Japan to identify candidate source populations for reintroduction in extinct populations via multiplexed inter-simple sequence repeat genotyping by sequencing (MIG-seq) and mitochondrial DNA sequencing analyses.