Genetic Diversity and Population Structure of the Endangered Species Epilobium hirsutum L. (Onagraceae)

Abstract

Epilobium hirsutum, classified as an Endangered Species by the Ministry of Environment, is distributed in fewer than five native habitats in South Korea. Genetic diversity research on this species is insufficient, and no conservation management plan has been established. in this study, we assessed the taxonomic distinctiveness of the Haenam population and evaluated the genetic diversity and population structure of four E. hirsutum populations. our results revealed generally low haplotype and nucleotide diversity, along with a wide range of genetic differentiation among populations (Pairwise-FST). Furthermore, analysis of molecular variance (AMOVA) indicated that most genetic variation was distributed within populations rather than among them. these findings underscore the urgent need for both in situ and ex situ conservation strategies to preserve the genetic diversity of E. hirsutum. On the other hand, our matK-based phylogenetic analysis showed that the Haenam population formed a distinct monophyletic clade with high bootstrap support, suggesting that it may be more closely aligned with E. parviflorum than with E. hirsutum.