Genetic Diversity Analysis of in China and Extraction of a Core Germplasm Collection Using EST-SSR Markers.

is an important forest tree genus with utilization in biodiesel, biomedicine, and it harbors great potential for biochemical engineering applications. For advanced breeding of , it is necessary to evaluate the genetic diversity and construct a rationally designed core germplasm collection. In this study, the genetic diversity and population structure of were conducted with 18 expressed sequence tag-simple sequence repeat (EST-SSR) markers in order to establish a core germplasm collection from 161 accessions. The population of showed high genetic diversity and significant population structure. Interspecific genetic variation was significantly higher than intraspecific variation in the , , and combined plus var. populations. had abundant genetic variation and showed a specific pattern of geographical variation, whereas , , and var. showed less intraspecific variation. A core germplasm collection was created that contained 40% of genetic variation in the initial population, comprising 53 and nine lineages, as well as single representatives of and var. These results provide a germplasm basis and theoretical rationale for the efficient management, conservation, and utilization of , as well as genetic resources for joint genomics research in the future.