Data from: Population genetic analysis of a global collection of Fragaria vesca using microsatellite markers

The woodland strawberry, Fragaria vesca, holds great promise as a model organism. It not only represents the important Rosaceae family that includes economically important species such as apples, pears, peaches and roses, but it also complements the well-known model organism Arabidopsis thaliana in key areas such as perennial life cycle and the development of fleshy fruit. Analysis of wild populations of A. thaliana has shed light on several important developmental pathways controlling, for example, flowering time and plant growth, suggesting that a similar approach using F. vesca might add to our understanding on the development of rosaceous species and perennials in general. As a first step, 298 F. vesca plants were analyzed using microsatellite markers with the primary aim of analyzing population structure and distribution of genetic diversity. Of the 68 markers tested, 56 were polymorphic, with an average of 4.46 alleles per locus. Our analysis partly confirms previous classification of F. vesca subspecies in North America and suggests two groups within the subsp. bracteata. In addition, F. vesca subsp. vesca forms a single global population with evidence that the Icelandic group is a separate cluster from the main Eurasian population.森林草莓（Fragaria vesca）是极具潜力的模式生物。它不仅隶属于包含苹果、梨、桃、月季等经济重要物种的蔷薇科（Rosaceae），同时在多年生生活史与肉质果实发育等核心研究领域，对经典模式生物拟南芥（Arabidopsis thaliana）形成了有益补充。针对拟南芥野生种群的研究已揭示了多个关键的发育调控通路，例如开花时间与植株生长相关通路，这提示采用类似方法研究森林草莓，可进一步增进我们对蔷薇科物种及多年生植物整体发育机制的认知。作为本研究的第一步，我们利用微卫星（microsatellite）标记对298株森林草莓植株进行了分析，核心目标为解析其种群结构与遗传多样性分布格局。在测试的68个标记中，有56个具有多态性，每个位点的平均等位基因数为4.46。本研究结果部分验证了北美地区森林草莓亚种的既往分类，并推测苞片草莓亚种（subsp. bracteata）内部存在两个类群。此外，森林草莓原亚种（subsp. vesca）构成了一个全球性的单一种群，研究证据表明冰岛类群与欧亚大陆主体种群形成了独立的遗传簇。