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Forests
Special Issues
Genetic Diversity and Conservation of Forest Tree Species
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Genetic Diversity and Conservation of Forest Tree Species

A special issue of Forests (ISSN 1999-4907). This special issue belongs to the section "Forest Ecology and Management".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (15 September 2020) | Viewed by 5192

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Claudia Mattioni

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Istituto di Ricerca sugli Ecosistemi Terrestri-Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche, 05010 Porano, Italy
Interests: genetic diversity; genetic analysis; PCR; conservation; genomics; population genetics; molecular biology; genetics; genotyping; phylogenetic analysis
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Prof. Dr. Angela Martín

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Genetics, University of Cordoba (Spain), Cordoba, Spain
Interests: next-generation sequencing; evolution; ecology and evolution; genomics; biodiversity; genetic analysis; conservation biology; conservation; genetics; cloning

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Forests play a key ecological role in the flora and fauna community, representing a significant resource of biodiversity in terms of species and habitats. However, in recent decades, forest biodiversity has been threatened by deforestation, pollution, and climate change. The adaptability of forest ecosystems to respond to environmental changes is ensured by the genetic diversity of trees; environmental conditions can induce spatially varying selective pressure, which directly affects adaptive genetic variation by favoring different variants. Thus, knowledge of the genetic variability is a key element to identify endangered populations and species, and to define management strategies for their future conservation. The aim of this Special Issue entitled “Genetic Diversity and Conservation of Forest Tree Species” is to improve the knowledge of geographic distribution of neutral and adaptive genetic diversity of widespread, endemic, and endangered tree species, helping toward their conservation.

We encourage the submission of original research papers as well as review papers dealing with new advances in tree population genetics, adaptive genetics, landscape genomics, conservation genetics, and resilience of tree species to pathogens.

Dr. Claudia Mattioni
Prof. Angela Martín
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Forests is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • population genetics
  • landscape genomics
  • conservation
  • genetic diversity
  • adptive diversity
  • pathogen resilience

Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

20 pages, 1712 KiB  
Article
Monuments Unveiled: Genetic Characterization of Large Old Chestnut (Castanea sativa Mill.) Trees Using Comparative Nuclear and Chloroplast DNA Analysis
by Claudia Mattioni, Liliana Ranzino, Marcello Cherubini, Luca Leonardi, Tommaso La Mantia, Simone Castellana, Fiorella Villani and Marco Cosimo Simeone
Forests 2020, 11(10), 1118; https://doi.org/10.3390/f11101118 - 21 Oct 2020
Cited by 9 | Viewed by 2585
Abstract
Large old trees are extraordinary organisms. They not only represent a historical, landscape and environmental heritage of inestimable value, but they also witness a long history of environmental changes and human interventions, and constitute an as yet poorly known reserve of genetic variability [...] Read more.
Large old trees are extraordinary organisms. They not only represent a historical, landscape and environmental heritage of inestimable value, but they also witness a long history of environmental changes and human interventions, and constitute an as yet poorly known reserve of genetic variability which can be considered a great resource for management programs of forest species. This is the first genetic study on Italian, large, old chestnut trees (Castanea sativa Mill.). Ninety-nine trees were surveyed and analysed. For each tree, more than one sample from canopy and root suckers was collected to test for the genetic integrity of the individuals. All samples were genotyped using nine nuclear microsatellite markers (nSSRs) and 106 unique genetic profiles were identified. A Bayesian analysis performed with the software STRUCTURE revealed the occurrence of two main gene pools and unveiled the genetic relationships existing among the genotyped individuals, and with the natural chestnut populations living in proximity. A phylogeographic structure of the plastid diversity was also obtained by the use of DNA sequence variation at two marker regions, revealing different origins and probable connections of the old trees with different glacial refugia. Our results contribute to an improved evaluation of the European chestnut genetic resources and provide useful insights into the species’ history and domestication in Italy. The importance of carefully targeted conservation strategies for these invaluable organisms is reaffirmed. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Genetic Diversity and Conservation of Forest Tree Species)
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16 pages, 3179 KiB  
Article
Genetic Diversity and Evolutionary Relationships of Chinese Pepper Based on nrDNA Markers
by Shijing Feng, Jinshuang Niu, Zhenshan Liu, Lu Tian, Xiangyuan Wang and Anzhi Wei
Forests 2020, 11(5), 543; https://doi.org/10.3390/f11050543 - 12 May 2020
Cited by 5 | Viewed by 2111
Abstract
Chinese pepper, referring to Zanthoxylum bungeanum Maxim. and Zanthoxylum armatum DC. species, is an important spice crop that has long attracted people’s interest due to its extensive application in Asian cuisine to improve taste. Numerous cultivars have been developed during the long history [...] Read more.
Chinese pepper, referring to Zanthoxylum bungeanum Maxim. and Zanthoxylum armatum DC. species, is an important spice crop that has long attracted people’s interest due to its extensive application in Asian cuisine to improve taste. Numerous cultivars have been developed during the long history of domestication and cultivation. However, little to no information is available on the genetic diversity and evolutionary relationships of Chinese pepper cultivars and their historical diversification has not been clarified. Herein, we sequenced two nrDNA non-coding region markers, the external transcribed spacer (ETS) and the internal transcribed spacer 2 (ITS2), to assess genetic diversity and phylogenetic relationships among 39 cultivated and wild populations of Chinese pepper from eight provinces and to address the question of ancient demographic trends which were probably influenced by changing climate during evolutionary history. In total, 31 haplotypes were identified based on 101 polymorphism sites. Our results revealed relatively high level of genetic variation despite long-term cultivation of this crop. AMOVA revealed that genetic variation existed predominantly within provinces rather than among provinces. The genetic structure result based on haplotype network analysis largely reflected historical records, which suggested a Gansu origin for Chinese pepper and an ancient west-to-east spread of Chinese pepper circulating in China. We also provided evidence that changing Pleistocene climates had shaped the demographic trends of Chinese pepper. Taken together, our findings not only suggest that Chinese pepper is a dynamic genetic system that responds to evolutionary forces, but it also provides a fundamental genetic profile for the conservation and responsible exploitation of the extant germplasm of Chinese pepper and for improving the genetic basis for breeding the cultivars. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Genetic Diversity and Conservation of Forest Tree Species)
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