Genetic diversity of Quercus persica in the southern Zagros, the site facing widespread oak decline

This project was conducted in Zagros forests of Ilam province in the west of Iran, where Quercus persica is native to the region. The main concern of this project was to address the oak decline of Zagros forests of Iran. Several theories have been proposed to elucidate this challenge of which genetic erosion could be mentioned. A site showing a range of symptoms of oak decline was inspected phenotypically where mortality of the oak trees was noticeable. To investigate the genetic diversity of Q. persica in Zagros forests, leaf, and the seed of sixty- nine individual trees from three phenotypic classes sampled among four plots (from across 17 50000 ha). The genetic diversity estimated using 12 SSR (microsatellite) markers. The 18 ssrQPZAG1-5 and ssrQPZAG119 indicated the highest and lowest number of polymorphic 19 bands, respectively. Totally, 124 bands were amplified in which 107 bands were polymorph.The result demonstrated a high genetic diversity among selected individuals of various phenotypes. The highest number and percentage of polymorphic bands were 30 and 96.77 %, observed in the fourth population (Chavar2/Anarak). In contrast, the minimum number and percentage recorded in the third population (Eivan plot) by, and 77.42 %, respectively. Moreover, a positive value of heterozygosity (Ht) across the entire trees provide valuable genetic resources to help improve the suitability of the oak forests.

Keywords:

Oak Decline , Ecosystem degradation , Quercus persica , Zagros forests