油茶是我国第一大木本油料作物，油茶籽油富含不饱和脂肪酸，是优质的食用植物油。油茶种子脂肪酸组成具有明显的地理分化，但与遗传分化的关联仍不了解。野生油茶是油茶育种重要的遗传资源，受人类活动的强烈影响，大量的野生种群正遭受严重威胁。但是，人类活动对野生油茶种群遗传结构的作用还不清楚。本项目拟在全面调查野生油茶分布状况的基础上，选取纬度与海拔梯度的野生种群，采用微卫星分子标记、气相色谱检测等方法：1）分析种群间的遗传分化与地理隔离、纬度、海拔以及气候因子的关系；2）分析种子脂肪酸组成的地理分化，及其与遗传分化和气候因子的关联；3）通过温度梯度萌发实验，分析种子脂肪酸组成与温度适应性的关联；4）比较历史与最近基因流，以及不同树龄组的遗传分化，探讨人类活动对种群的影响。本项目将为野生油茶种群保护地和保护策略的确定，以及优异野生资源的挖掘和利用提供科学依据。

Oil-tea camellia is the first main woody oil crop in China. Its seed oil is rich in unsaturated fatty acids, which is a high-grade edible vegetable oil. Seed fatty acid composition of oil-tea camellia has clear geographic differentiation, but its correlation with genetic differentiation is still unknown. Wild oil-tea camellia is the important genetic resource for oil-tea camellia breeding. Under strong influence of human activity, many wild populations of oil-tea camellia are suffering from serious threats. However, it is still unclear about the effects of human activity on the genetic structure of wild populations. Based on the complete investigation of wild oil-tea camellia distributions, this project plans to select wild populations along latitude and altitude gradients, and use microsatellite markers, gas chromatography etc. to: 1) investigate the relationships between population genetic differentiation and geographic isolation, latitude, altitude, and climate factors; 2) analyze the geographic differentiation in seed fatty acid composition, and its correlation with genetic differentiation and climate factors; 3) study the correlation between seed fatty acid composition and temperature adaptation through temperature-gradient germination experiments; 4) compare historical and recent gene flow, and genetic differentiation between different age classes, to investigate the effects of human activity on the wild populations. This study will provide the scientific bases for the determination of protected areas and conservation strategies of wild oil-tea camellia, and for the exploration and utilization of valuable wild resources.