Melia azedarach Linn., a member of Meliaceae, is a fast-growing native tree widely distributed in Taiwan. The present research used the technology of Inter-Simple Sequence Repeat (ISSR) molecular fingerprint to study the chemical composition and genetic diversity of this species. One hundred and thirty samples of M. azedarach. were collected from eighteen areas in six climatic regions of Taiwan. Eight primers were used and forty-four polymorphic sites were obtained. Population genetic (POPGENE) analysis revealed that total gene diversity (H) was 0.3930 and genetic index (Gst) was 0.4153, while gene flow index (Nm) was 0.7040. The analysis of molecular variance (AMOVA) showed that the variance component between population regions was 19.30% (p <0.001), among populations within region was 14.03% (p<0.001), and among individuals within population was 66.67% (p<0.001). The results also indicated that the major variation existed among individuals within populations. However, a significant genetic differentiation existed among regions and among populations within regions. By exploring the habitat of the genetic differentiation among populations and gene flow between different climate regions, climate was found accounted for nearly 20% of variation. From the mantel test, results showed that there were significant differences in genetic variation with average temperature, average annual sunshine hours and geographical distance. In conclusion, the gene flow among populations was relatively restricted. Climate segmentation may be a significant factor to the genetic differentiation among these populations.
Melia azedarach Linn., a member of Meliaceae, is a fast-growing native tree widely distributed in Taiwan. The present research used the technology of Inter-Simple Sequence Repeat (ISSR) molecular fingerprint to study the chemical composition and genetic diversity of this species. One hundred and thirty samples of M. azedarach. were collected from eighteen areas in six climatic regions of Taiwan. Eight primers were used and forty-four polymorphic sites were obtained. Population genetic (POPGENE) analysis revealed that total gene diversity (H) was 0.3930 and genetic index (Gst) was 0.4153, while gene flow index (Nm) was 0.7040. The analysis of molecular variance (AMOVA) showed that the variance component between population regions was 19.30% (p <0.001), among populations within region was 14.03% (p<0.001), and among individuals within population was 66.67% (p<0.001). The results also indicated that the major variation existed among individuals within populations. However, a significant genetic differentiation existed among regions and among populations within regions. By exploring the habitat of the genetic differentiation among populations and gene flow between different climate regions, climate was found accounted for nearly 20% of variation. From the mantel test, results showed that there were significant differences in genetic variation with average temperature, average annual sunshine hours and geographical distance. In conclusion, the gene flow among populations was relatively restricted. Climate segmentation may be a significant factor to the genetic differentiation among these populations.