Population Genomics of Mangrove Species

Population genomics of mangrove species integrates high‐throughput sequencing and advanced analytical frameworks to examine genetic variation across entire genomes and across geographical ranges. This field has transformed our understanding of how salt-tolerant trees and shrubs adapt to the dynamic intertidal environment, revealing complex demographic histories, patterns of connectivity and the genomic basis of local adaptation. By surveying thousands to millions of genetic markers—often single nucleotide polymorphisms—researchers characterise population structure at multiple spatial scales, detect signatures of past expansions or bottlenecks, and identify regions under selection in response to salinity, temperature or tidal regimes. Applications extend from reconstructing speciation processes in the Indo-Malayan and Atlantic-Pacific contexts to informing conservation management for threatened stands. Integrating landscape data with genomic profiles enables the disentangling of oceanic currents, historical sea-level fluctuations and anthropogenic impacts that shape gene flow among coastal mangrove populations. As climates shift and coastal development accelerates, population genomics offers actionable insights for restoration, for defining evolutionarily significant units and for predicting the resilience of mangrove forests under future environmental change.

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Population Genomics of Mangrove Species publication trend

The graph below shows the total number of articles in population genomics of mangrove species across all publications each year (not limited to Nature Index journals).

Technical terms

Single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP): A variant at a single base position in the genome, commonly used as a genetic marker.

Selective sweep: A region of the genome where a favourable mutation has risen to high frequency, reducing nearby genetic diversity.

Population structure: The presence of genetically distinct groups within a species, often arising from limited gene flow or historical separation.

Genotype–environment association: A statistical correlation between genetic variants and environmental variables, used to infer adaptive loci.

Demographic bottleneck: A sharp reduction in population size that results in loss of genetic diversity.

References

1. Genetic basis of local adaptation in the cold-tolerant mangrove Kandelia obovata. Frontiers in Plant Science (2024).
2. Studies on genetic diversity, gene flow and landscape genetic in Avicennia marina: Spatial PCA, Random Forest, and phylogeography approaches. BMC Plant Biology (2023).
3. Assessment of the Genetic Diversity and Population Structure of Rhizophora mucronata along Coastal Areas in Thailand. Biology (2023).
4. Speciation with gene flow via cycles of isolation and migration: insights from multiple mangrove taxa. National Science Review (2018).