Evaluation of the conservation value and conservation difficulty of
local populations of the rare plant Viola raddeana based on genetic
diversity and gene expression information using next-generation
sequencers
Abstract
Rare plant species identified in project areas where land is to be
developed or altered may need to be extracted for ex-situ conservation
under human control. During ex-situ conservation, it is important to
minimize the impact of adverse factors including the potentially limited
environmental adaptability of rare plants under cultivation and possible
losses of genetic diversity due to inbreeding if the number of conserved
individuals is low. Here we evaluate the conservation difficulty and
genetic diversity of populations of the rare plant ViolĪ± raddeana at
five sites based on harmful gene accumulation and gene duplication data
gathered using RNA-seq. Moreover, we evaluate the genetic diversity and
structure of these populations using SNP data acquired using MIG-seq.
The results obtained indicate that the V. raddeana populations have
declined but remain robust towards environmental changes and can undergo
voluntary mating at all sites. Moreover, there is clear genetic
differentiation between two populations in close geographic proximity.
If the majority of the remaining individuals of V. raddeana in each
genetically related population were transplanted and cultivated, it
would be possible to maintain their genetic diversity through ex-situ
conservation.