Abstract Detail

Society for Economic Botany/BSA Economic Botany Section

Fuentes-Cross, Patricia [1], Cross, Hugh [2].

Genetic Diversity of a native Australian fruit, Santalum acuminatum, in South Australia.

The native Australian fruit quandong, Santalum acuminatum, is widely dispersed across the southern arid regions of Australia. Along with two other endemic species of Santalum (S. spicatum and S.murrayanum) it has been listed as threatened. Wild populations are impacted by harvesting, browsing by feral animals, and habitat fragmentation. We use a phylogeographic approach to study remnant populations in South Australia, to reconstruct the historical processes underlying their geographic distributions, reveal their current genetic structure, and determine which of the external stresses have had the greatest impact. We collected leaf samples from wild populations and these have been genotyped using chloroplast and nuclear microsatellite markers, and DNA sequences were obtained from the nrDNA marker ITS. Thus far, our results indicate a high degree of genetic variation both between and within populations of South Australia. More detailed genetic and morphological study of the species and its relatives will help to uncover the historical processed underlying the current distributions, and to determine what biotic and abiotic factors have had the largest impacts on their genetic diversity.

Broader Impacts:

1 - The University of Adelaide, School of Earth and Environmental Sciences, North Terrace Campus, Darling Bldg. Room 205A, Adelaide, South Australia, SA, 5000, Australia
2 - Department of Environment and Natural Resources, State Herbarium of South Australia, P.O Box 3732, Kent Town, South Australia, 5000, Australia

Keywords:
Australian native vegetation
phylogeography
conservation.

Presentation Type: Poster:Posters for Sections
Session: P
Location: Khorassan Ballroom/Chase Park Plaza
Date: Monday, July 11th, 2011
Time: 5:45 PM
Number: PEN021
Abstract ID:630