Applicability of inter-primer binding site iPBS- retrotransposon marker system for the assessment of genetic diversity and population structure of Peruvian rosewood (Aniba rosaeodora Ducke) germplasm

Background: Rosewood (Aniba rosaeodora Ducke), which has a great demand due to its essential oil globally, is an evergreen tree of the Amazon forests. Rosewood natural stands have been depleted through deforestation and the destruction of habitat. Currently, rosewood is included in the ICUN red list of endangered species.

Methods and results: The 11 highly polymorphic primers amplified total 305 bands of which 301 (98.69%) were polymorphic. The number of effective alleles (Ne), Shannon's information index (I), overall gene diversity (Ht), gene diversity (h), and polymorphism information content (PIC) were (1.562), (0.505), (0.330), (0.337) and (0.343), respectively. These diversity indices explored high genetic diversity in rosewood germplasm. Among studied germplasm, the Santa Marta population was found most diverse by reflecting higher values of diversity indices while the Zungarococha population was found least diverse. The analysis of molecular variance (AMOVA) revealed that 79% of the genetic variation was within the populations. The STRUCTURE algorithm, unweighted pair group with arithmetic mean (UPGMA), and principal coordinate's analysis (PCoA) separated all germplasms into different population groups according to their geographic locations. Santa Marta population was found more diverse by reflecting higher values of diversity indices. The maximum genetic distance (0.868) was found between the Huajoya-10 and Nanay-3. In this investigation, iPBS- retrotransposon marker system was used to explore the genetic diversity of Peruvian rosewood germplasm.

Conclusions: The results in this study such as higher genetic diversity indices, AMOVA (79%) within population and PIC value (0.343) showed the utility and reproducibility of iPBS-retrotransposons in this species successfully. The STRUCTURE algorithm separated the germplasms into six population groups according to their geographic locations. These results have valuable information for the conservation, management strategies and future breeding activities of rosewood.