Recently, a paper from the Conservation Genetics Research Group of WBG, "Genetic diversity, gene introgression and homoplasy in sympatric populations of the genus Actinidia as revealed by chloroplast microsatellite markers, which was originally published in Biodiversity Science" [15(1): 1-22, 2007], has been granted a 2nd-place Award of the 6th Outstanding Academic Papers in Chinese Association of Science and Technology Periodicals.

Gene introgression usually results from spontaneous hybridization occurring among closely related species in sympatric populations and thus has significant impact on the genetic structure of natural populations. This phenomenon has thus become a hotspot in the study of evolutionary and conservation biology. In the present study, eight pairs of chloroplast microsatellite (cpSSR) primers were used to examine genetic diversity, population genetic structure and genetic differentiation between sympatric species among seven Actinidia species with overlapping distributions in transitional regions ranging from the western China plateau to the middle-eastern China hilly mountains. The results are helpful for understanding genetic features of cpDNA and evolutionary patterns of introgressive hybridization of the natural population of the genus Actinidia, and provide basic information for conservation and sustainable use of wild kiwi fruit germplasm in China.