Genetic diversity among spatially isolated populations of Eurya nitida Korth. (Theaceae) based on inter-simple sequence repeats

In India, Eurya nitida occurs in the forests of the northeastern (NE) Himalayas and the Western Ghats (WG). Thirty-seven individuals from NE and WG populations were collected and analysed for genetic diversity profile using sixteen inter-simple sequence repeat markers. These individuals produced 95.45% polymorphic banding profiles. Total heterozygosity (H-T) and interpopulation heterozygosity (H-S) were 0.2665 and 0.1346+/-0.059 respectively, while AMOVA yielded a moderate value of 35.20% across the locations. Low gene flow, UPGMA phenogram and Principal Co-Ordinate analysis revealed strong geographical structuring within the locations. These results impose a strong need to plan aggressive conservation strategies for E. nitida.