J. For. Sci., 2014, 60(1):18-27 | DOI: 10.17221/71/2013-JFS

Microsatellite DNA markers in Shorea platyclados (Dipterocarpaceae): genetic diversity, size homoplasy and mother treesOriginal Paper

A.M. Javed¹, Ch.H. Cannon¹, R. Wickneswari²

¹ Department of Biological Sciences, Texas Tech University, Lubbock, USA

² School of Environmental and Natural Resource Sciences, Faculty of Science and Technology, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Bangi, Selangor, Malaysia

Cross-specific amplification of microsatellite loci greatly enhances the effectiveness of this marker system. This shortcut would greatly enhance our examination of the gene flow and population structure of trees in diverse tropical rainforests. To explore the effectiveness and limitations of this approach, we examined allelic diversity at six microsatellite loci, originally developed in a congeneric species, in three populations of Shorea platyclados from Peninsular Malaysia. Fragment sizing was performed by an efficient and sensitive (1 bp resolution) technique using capillary electrophoresis, ethidium bromide detection, and minimal clean-up. Fragment size ranges were conserved between species and null allele frequencies were low. Higher overall levels of genetic diversity were detected in our study. Variation among populations was directly related to geographic distance. Fragment size class distributions suggest that each locus should be studied using different evolutionary models. Direct sequencing of SSR fragments revealed that size differences were due to changes in both the flanking regions and repeat motifs. Several clear examples of size homoplasy were observed, along with the disruption of perfect repeats, suggesting that cross-specific amplification of microsatellite loci requires an additional level of confirmation at the DNA sequence level before the influence of size homoplasy and changes in repeat structure can be assessed. Simulation studies demonstrate that the increasing intensity of timber harvest leads to higher variability in levels of potential heterozygosity and decreasing total number of alleles in the remnant "mother trees" The careful selection of "mother" trees can greatly enhance the future genetic diversity of populations.

Keywords: dipterocarp; timber identification; certification

Published: January 31, 2014  Show citation