Characterising the molecular diversity of ash (Fraxinus excelsior L.) at its western marginal range in Europe — phylogeographic insights and implications for conservation in Ireland

A large proportion of the western marginal range for common ash (Fraxinus excelsior L.) is located on the island of Ireland. However, the molecular diversity of common ash in Ireland has only been studied in a limited number of populations and using mainly non-standard chloroplast and nuclear simple sequence repeat (SSR) markers. This has prevented direct comparisons with studies on the rest of the species’ range across Europe. Here, four chloroplast and six nuclear SSR markers were used to infer the genetic diversity from 347 trees sampled across 20 populations. Results confirmed that, like Britain, Ireland is dominated by one main haplotype (H04) which originates from an Iberian glacial refugium. The occurrence of a second, rarer haplotype (H13) that also occurs as a rare haplotype in Britain but nowhere else, suggests at least some post-glacial recolonisation from the east. Chloroplast allelic richness was similar to Norway, which constitutes the species’ northern marginal range, but lower than in Britain and the European average. Nuclear allelic richness was also comparable with Norway, but Irish common ash differed in a complete absence of sub-population structure and geographic variability at both the chloroplast and nuclear level. Analysis of nuclear genetic structure indicated that common ash in Ireland mainly comprises one genetic group which is likely part of a single, western European meta-population. However, a less frequent genetic cluster is hypothesised to represent a mix of non-native alleles from imported plantation ash. Finally, conservation recommendations and the consequences of a uniform and low genetic diversity are discussed in the context of ash dieback disease, which was present in all populations sampled here.