Format: ORAL

Jessica M. Prebble1, Natalie Forsdick2, Thomas Buckley2, Rob Smissen1, Peter Heenan1, Peter Bellingham1, Alex Verry1, Connor Watson1, Dukchul Park2, Ngati Kuri3

1. Manaaki Whenua – Landcare Research, PO Box 69040, Lincoln 7640, New Zealand 2. Manaaki Whenua – Landcare Research, Private Bag 92170 Auckland Mail Centre Auckland 1142, New Zealand 3. Ngati Kuri Trust Board, 5399 Far North Road, Ngataki, RD4, Kaitaia 0484, New Zealand

The 12 Metrosideros (Myrtaceae) native to the New Zealand archipelago are facing a growing number of threats, particularly since the arrival of the pathogen myrtle rust (Austropuccinia psidii) in 2017. Despite their iconic status (e.g. Pohutukawa M. excelsa known as the New Zealand Christmas tree) we have surprisingly little genetic data to help us understand how diversity is partitioned across the landscape for most species.One of the most threatened species is rata Moehau (M. bartlettii), a critically endangered tree found only in the far north of New Zealand. At the last count only 14 trees were found in the wild. In conjunction with the iwi (tribe) Ngati Kuri we have assembled a genome of rata Moehau. This assembled genome forms the basis of multiple studies in the genus, e.g. resequencing almost the entire wild population of rata Moehau, plus representatives of additional closely related species. At the same time, we are using the assembled genome to develop new low copy genetic markers and are gathering a dataset of as many New Zealand Metrosideros species as we can to sequence using amplicon sequencing. The end goal is an understanding of how the genetic diversity of each New Zealand Metrosideros species is distributed in space, with a particular focus on modelled refugia in the face of climate change and projected myrtle rust spread, to help prioritise conservation effort.