Genetic diversity and population structure of Castanopsis eyrei based on simple sequence repeat markers

Castanopsis eyrei (Fagaceae) is one of the dominant tree species in mid-subtropical, evergreen, broad-leaved forests. We obtained 14 pairs of simple sequence repeat (SSR) primers from previous studies, which were used to analyze 90 C. eyrei individuals from three populations at different altitudes. Low heterozygosity was detected (Fis = 0.6124), and the observed heterozygosity was lower than the expected heterozygosity, possibly because of inbreeding and/or the population substructure. The genetic differentiation between populations was relatively low (Fst = 0.0645); only 7% of the total genetic variation occurred between populations. The medium-altitude population had higher genetic diversity than the low-altitude or high-altitude populations.