Abstract

Background and Aims. The assessment of the genetic variability and the identification of isolated populations within a given species represent important information to plan conservation strategies on a genetic basis. In this work, the genetic variability in five natural populations of Juniperus phoenicea, three from Sardinia, one from Cyprus and the last one in the Maritime Alps was analysed by means of ISSRs, on the hypothesis that the latter could have been a refugial one during the last glaciation.
Methods. ISSRs were chosen because of their ability to detect variation without any prior sequence information. The use of three primers yielded 45 reproducible, polymorphic bands, which were utilized to estimate the basic parameters of genetic variability and diversity.
Key Results. All of the populations analysed harboured an adequate amount of genetic variability, with H_S = 0•1299. The proportion of genetic diversity between populations has been estimated by G_ST = 0•12. The three Sardinian populations are separated, as tested by AMOVA, from the Cyprus and the continental ones.
Conclusions. The results indicate that geographical isolation has represented a major barrier to gene flow in Juniperus phoenicea. This work represents a first step towards a full genetic characterization of a conifer from the Mediterranean, a world biodiversity hotspot confronted with climate change, and thus contributes towards the planning of genetics-informed conservation strategies.

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