article id 229,
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                        Research article
                    
        
                                    
                                    
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                            Betula pendula subsp. fontqueri, present in the south of Spain, has been  considered in danger of extinction and, for this reason, some regional  governments in Spain have included their populations in conservation  programmes. In order to establish the genetic structure of the Betula  pendula subsp. fontqueri populations, a random amplified polymorphic DNA  (RAPD) analysis was carried out. Two B. pubescens populations were  included in the study as taxonomic controls. B. pendula subsp. fontqueri  populations were clearly differentiated through UPGMA, and showed  significant pairwise genetic distance (ΦST) values between  all pairs of populations obtained by AMOVA. Genetic diversity found  between populations was not correlated to geographical distances. The  significant differences among populations must be due to progressive  isolation of Betula populations along their paleogeographical history,  and more recently to the drastic fragmentation and reduction of some of  these populations. The results obtained in this work show clear genetic  differences which could be considered in the management of conservation  strategies for Betula pendula subsp. fontqueri in its Iberian meridional  distribution.
                        
                
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                            Martín,
                            Departamento de Biología Vegetal, Escuela Técnica Superior de Ingenieros Agrónomos de Madrid, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, Ciudad Universitaria s/n, 28040-Madrid, Spain
                                                        E-mail:
                                                            mariacarmen.martin@upm.es
                                                                                          
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                            Parra,
                            Departamento de Ciencias y Recursos Agrícolas y Forestales, Universidad de Córdoba, Avda. Linneo s/n, 14004-Córdoba, Spain
                                                        E-mail:
                                                            tp@nn.es
                                                                                
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                            Clemente-Muñoz,
                            Departamento de Ciencias y Recursos Agrícolas y Forestales, Universidad de Córdoba, Avda. Linneo s/n, 14004-Córdoba, Spain
                                                        E-mail:
                                                            mcm@nn.es
                                                                                
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                            Hernández-Bermejo,
                            Departamento de Ciencias y Recursos Agrícolas y Forestales, Universidad de Córdoba, Avda. Linneo s/n, 14004-Córdoba, Spain
                                                        E-mail:
                                                            ehb@nn.es