Population genetic analysis of a medicinally significant Australian rainforest tree, Fontainea picrosperma C.T. White (Euphorbiaceae): biogeographic patterns and implications for species domestication and plantation establishment

Robert W Lamont; Gabriel Conroy; P Reddell; Steven Ogbourne

doi:10.1186/s12870-016-0743-2

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Population genetic analysis of a medicinally significant Australian rainforest tree, Fontainea picrosperma C.T. White (Euphorbiaceae): biogeographic patterns and implications for species domestication and plantation establishment

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Population genetic analysis of a medicinally significant Australian rainforest tree, Fontainea picrosperma C.T. White (Euphorbiaceae): biogeographic patterns and implications for species domestication and plantation establishment

Robert W Lamont, Gabriel Conroy, P Reddell and Steven Ogbourne

BMC Plant Biology, Vol.16, pp.1-12

2016

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1186/s12870-016-0743-2

PMCID: PMC4772518

PMID: 26926947

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Abstract

biodiscovery

cancer

EBC-46

population genetics

rainforest refugia

wet tropics

Background: Fontainea picrosperma, a subcanopy tree endemic to the rainforests of northeastern Australia, is of medicinal significance following the discovery of the novel anti-cancer natural product, EBC-46. Laboratory synthesis of EBC-46 is unlikely to be commercially feasible and consequently production of the molecule is via isolation from F. picrosperma grown in plantations. Successful domestication and plantation production requires an intimate knowledge of a taxon's life-historyattributes and genetic architecture, not only to ensure the maximum capture of genetic diversity from wild source populations, but also to minimise the risk of a detrimental loss in genetic diversity via founder effects during subsequent breeding programs designed to enhance commercially significant agronomic traits. Results: Here we report the use of eleven microsatellite loci (PIC = 0.429; PID = 1.72 × 10-6 ) to investigate the partitioning of genetic diversity within and among seven natural populations of F. picrosperma. Genetic variation among individuals and within populations was found to be relatively low (A = 2.831; HE = 0.407), although there was marked differentiation among populations (PhiPT = 0.248). Bayesian, UPGMA and principal coordinates analyses detected three main genotypic clusters (K = 3), which were present at all seven populations. Despite low levels of historical gene flow (Nm = 1.382), inbreeding was negligible (F = -0.003); presumably due to the taxon's dioecious breeding system. Conclusion: The data suggests that F. picrosperma was previously more continuously distributed, but that rainforest contraction and expansion in response to glacial-interglacial cycles, together with significant anthropogenic effects have resulted in significant fragmentation. This research provides important tools to support plantation establishment, selection and genetic improvement of this medicinally significant Australian rainforest species.

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Title: Population genetic analysis of a medicinally significant Australian rainforest tree, Fontainea picrosperma C.T. White (Euphorbiaceae): biogeographic patterns and implications for species domestication and plantation establishment
Authors: Robert W Lamont (Author) - University of the Sunshine Coast - Faculty of Science, Health, Education and Engineering
Gabriel Conroy (Author) - University of the Sunshine Coast - Faculty of Science, Health, Education and Engineering
P Reddell (Author) - EcoBiotics Ltd
Steven Ogbourne (Author) - University of the Sunshine Coast - Faculty of Science, Health, Education and Engineering
Publication details: BMC Plant Biology, Vol.16, pp.1-12
Publisher: BioMed Central Ltd.
Date published: 2016
DOI: 10.1186/s12870-016-0743-2
ISSN: 1471-2229
PMID: 26926947; PMC4772518
Copyright note: Copyright © 2016 Lamont et al. Open Access This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license, and indicate if changes were made. The Creative Commons Public Domain Dedication waiver (http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/) applies to the data made available in this article, unless otherwise stated.
Organisation Unit: School of Science and Engineering - Legacy; GeneCology Research Centre - Legacy; School of Science, Technology and Engineering; School of Law and Society; Centre for Bioinnovation
Language: English
Record Identifier: 99449137102621
Output Type: Journal article

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