Genetic Diversity and population structure of Atractylodes japonica KOIDZ？ in Korea

Abstract

The study of genetic diversity was carried out in Atractylodes japonica KOIDZ.. Although this species has been regarded as medically improtant one, there is no report on population structure in Korea. Starch gel electrophoresis was used to investigate the allozyme variation and genetic structure of eight Korean populations of this species. Of the 15 genetic loci surveyed, nine (60.0%) was polymorphic in at least one population. GENETIC diversity was high at the species level (Hes=0.144), whereas, that of the population level was relatively low (Hep=0.128). Nearly 87% of the total genetic diversity in A. japonica was apportioned within populations. The sexual reproduction, high fecundity, and perennials are proposed as possible factors contributing to high genetic diversity. The indirect estimated of gene flow based on Gst was 1.69.