1. Samuel A. Logan, Prattana Phuekvilai and Kirsten Wolff
Ancient woodlands in the limelight: genetic structure of Tilia (lime trees) in the UK.
Samuel A. Logan, Prattana Phuekvilai and Kirsten Wolff

2. Ancient woodlands Continuous cover since c1600
Indicator species (e.g. wild garlic, herb paris, oak, lime)
Forest remnants
Pollen records
Conservation concern
Fragmentation
Isolation
Genetic consequences

3. Tilia T. x europaea T. cordata T. platyphyllos
Image: M. Dodd (

4. Aims Test the resolution of genetic markers Hypotheses Outcome
Discriminate between T. cordata and T. platyphyllos
Distinguish hybrids
Hypotheses
Species are separate evolutionary units
Genetic structure and limited gene flow
Low genetic diversity
Outcome
Broaden our understanding of the molecular ecology
Aid in future restoration and conservation

5. Study sites and genetic markers
24 populations
Mixed with hybrids
Ancient or natural origins
Forward primer
DNA fingerprinting
Microsatellites
Reverse primer

6. Species vs hybrid identification
PCoA
Identified groups (species)
STRUCTURE
Assigned individuals to two clusters (K = 2)

7. Diversity and differentiation
Genetic diversity
T. cordata – HE = 0.51
T. platyphyllos – HE = 0.68
Genetic differentiation
T. cordata FST = 0.08
T. platyphyllos FST = 0.10
Among species FST = 0.31
AMOVA

8. Intra-specific structure
Tilia cordata
Tilia platyphyllos

9. Conclusions Genetic markers Conservation Differentiation
Identified groups (species)
Optimal K = 2
Differentiation
High genetic differentiation
Two biological units
Intra-specific structure
Optimal K = 3
Geographical
Diversity
High genetic diversity
Conservation
Highest diversity
Endemic genotypes

10. Future work RNA-seq using Next Generation Sequencing
Illumina HiSeq platform
Generated >366,000,000 paired-end reads
De Novo transcriptome assembly
One sample produced >100,000 transcripts
Annotation
Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms (SNPs)
Microsatellite markers
Adaptive genes

11. Acknowledgements Sample collection and fieldwork Landowners Funding
Dr Paul Ashton
Dr Rebecca Roseff
Tim Laurie
Landowners
National Trust
Forestry Commission
Private landowners
Funding
RB Cooke Studentship (Newcastle University)
Thai Government

12. Thank you
School of Biology, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne.