Cedrela fissilis Vell. is a high tree (10 a 30 m) with a DBH between 40 and 50 cm. Rectilinear trunk with little developed or absent sapopemas, but when attacked by the Cedar Shoot Borer is crooked. Thick, hard, brown to gray bark. Alternate leaves from 8 to 24 leaflet pairs. Actinomorfic unisexual flowers, from 5 to 10 mm length, produced in groups. Fruits are wood deiscent capsules from 3 to 10 cm length, with 30 to 300 winged seeds, till 35 mm length by 15 mm wide. Pollination is conducted by insects, probably moths and bees and seed dispersion is anemocoric. Cedrela fissilis is one of the most endangered tree species due to the selective logging and destruction of Atlantic Forest in southern-center Brazil, its main distribution region. On the other side, this species has a grate production potential of a high quality wood, mainly in mixed stands, what becomes economically viable because the lack of wood in national and international market, as well as it is being used in restoration projects of tropical forests. Besides these facts, the conservation of genetic resources of this species is very critical by the drastic population reduction that it is suffering. In this context, it becomes very important the study of the genetic diversity of the remnant populations of this species and the structure of this variation. This study analyzed ten natural populations of C. fissilis in five states in the southern-center region of Brazil, aiming to examine their genetic structure and infer strategies for genetic conservation, as well as, establishes criteria to use the genetic resources. Nine microssatellites loci were developed for this species and revealed 130 alleles in all populations. Populations inbreeding was relatively low. Populations presented genetic differentiation following the isolation by distance model. Populations from the seasonal semi deciduous forest, as well as from the evergreen forest presented higher similarity among them. Internal genetic structure of two populations (Intervales State Park – SP and Rio Doce State Park - MG) showed a random spatial distribution of genotypes. The population of Matão Forest Reserve – PR showed a significant spatial structure, revealing a genetic similarity among near trees (till 30 m). Juveniles and adult plants were analyzed in two populations (Intervales State Park - SP and Matão Forest Reserve – PR), showing similar genetic diversity for the two classes in both populations. But, we observe a tendency of increase in genetic diversity and decrease in inbreeding in adult plants in relation to juveniles. These data also allow inferring about other similar tree species, since there is no available data on the genetic diversity of Atlantic Forest tree species in large geographical regions.
