Are trees of Qualea grandiflora Mart. (Vochysiaceae) growing along roads reproductively isolated? A study based on microsatellite loci

Abstract

Within the framework of the intense fragmentation of the Cerrado and getting to know the ecological functions of trees found on roadsides, the aim of this project is to compare the genetic diversity, inbreeding and mating system of open-pollinated seeds of Qualea grandiflora trees found on the edge of roads with those of a continuous population in a Cerrado area, seeking to answer the following questions: i) Are Q. grandiflora trees located on the edge of roads reproductively isolated? ii) Are the outcrossing rate, the effective number of pollen donors and paternity correlation different between trees found on the edge of roads and in the continuous population? iii) Is there a difference in the coefficient of inbreeding, coancestry and effective size of the progeny resulting from natural pollination of both studied environmental contexts? iv) Can we collect seeds from trees on the edge of roads for environmental restoration programs? Open-pollinated seeds will be collected from 15 trees on the edge of the roads that connect Rio Claro and Itirapina, SP, and from 15 of the continuous population located in an area of Cerrado in Itirapina. Five fruits will be collected from each of 30 trees for genotyping six seeds in each fruit. Microsatellite primers already developed will be used. To answer the questions posed, each of the matrices mothers will also be genotyped. These results allow understanding what are the impacts of fragmentation on the reproductive behavior of the species and the effective size of the descendant populations, which will serve to delineate strategies for the conservation and seed collection for environmental restoration of Cerrado. (AU)