Iseon KimP1, Myong-Suk Cho1, Ji-Hyeon Jeon1, Yoon-Seul Choi1, Gyu Eun Kim1, Chae Young Lee1, Hyuk-Jin Kim2, Hee-Young Gil2, Seung-Chul Kim1

1Department of Biological Sciences, Sungkyunkwan University, Suwon, Korea; 2Forest Biodiversity Research Division, Korea National Arboretum, Pocheon 11186, Korea

Despite increasing concerns regarding ecological disturbances caused by imported seeds in forest restoration, genetic information on native species remains insufficient. Styrax obassia Siebold & Zucc. (Styracaceae) is a deciduous tree native to East Asia, distributed across Korea, Japan, and eastern China. However, previous population genetic studies of this species have been limited by restricted geographic sampling and small sample sizes. In this study, population genetic analyses of S. obassia across its East Asian range were conducted using 3RAD-seq (triple-enzyme restriction site-associated DNA sequencing). While overall genetic diversity and differentiation among populations were low, significant regional genetic structuring was observed. Notably, Japanese and Chinese populations showed distinct genetic clusters differentiated from majority of Korean populations. These results suggest that the genetic structure reflects the coexistence of regional differentiation and limited gene flow, rather than complete isolation among populations. The genetic data generated herein provide a scientific foundation for the genetic characterization of native Korean populations and are expected to be applicable to forest restoration.

This study was supported by a grant from the Korea National Arboretum (KNA), funded by the Korea Forest Service (KFS) of the Republic of Korea (Grant No. KNA1-2-51-26-3).