Diversity of microsatellite markers in the populations of Picea asperata originating from the mountains of China

The genetic structure and diversity of natural populations of Picea asperata Mast. were investigated based on seven microsatellite loci. For a total of 300 individuals from 10 populations sampled, a moderate to high level of genetic diversity was observed at population levels with the number of alleles per locus (A) ranging from 6.86 to 11.86 (average 10.89), the proportion of polymorphic loci (P) equaling 100.0%, and the expected heterozygosity (He) ranging from 0.409 to 0.440 (average 0.426). The proportion of genetic differentiation present among populations accounted for 22.3% of the whole diversity. Such extensive inter-population differentiation detected in P. asperata could have resulted from several factors, including restricted gene flow between populations. In fact, the estimate of gene flow obtained in the study was low (Nm = 0.871). Habitat fragmentation caused by human disturbances may be a factor attributing to the low level of gene flow and high genetic differentiation among populations. Our results suggest that microsatellite markers are powerful high-resolution tools for the accurate assessment of population genetic parameters, which are greatly needed in the conservation genetics of P. asperata.