Minuartia dirphya

Abstract: The genus Minuartia is highly diverse in the Mediterranean region and includes several endemic and locally restricted species. The genetic variation of three Minuartia species (M. dirphya, M. parnonia, M. wettsteinii) which are endemic to Greece was investigated, aiming to also develop effective conservation plans for their protection. Minuartia dirphya and M. wettsteinii are known to occur only at their type localities, each forming a small population, while M. parnonia is more widespread with seven populations located in the south-east Peloponnese. Genetic diversity was estimated using ten chloroplast microsatellite and five REMAP markers. The chloroplast microsatellite markers exhibited limited polymorphism among species only, while REMAP revealed a significant amount of genetic variation at the population and species level. All the analyses performed (dendrograms, PCoA, STRUCTURE) showed clear differentiation among species, highlighting M. wettsteinii as the most genetically distant. As shown by AMOVA, a degree of differentiation was detected within M. parnonia, where 41 % of the total variation was partitioned among populations and 59 % to the individuals within them. At the species level, the highest genetic diversity (PPB = 75.86 %, Hj = 0.2728, I = 0.3509) was observed in M. parnonia, followed by M. dirphya (PPB = 55.17 %, Hj = 0.2350, I = 0.2767), while the lowest was observed in M. wettsteinii (PPB = 28.74 %, Hj = 0.1449, I = 0.1498). Scarce gene flow (N m = 0.5451) was observed among M. parnonia populations. The current study is important for developing conservation management plans for the three threatened Minuartia species.