Research Progress on Genetic Variation of Alnus

As nitrogen fixation trees of non-Leguminosae,Alnus was becoming an ecologically valuable genus of plants for its ability in soil improvement and adaptation.In this paper,the research progress was reviewed and discussed on phylogeny and genetic variation on the level of chromosome,isozymes,RFLP,RAPD,AFLP and SSR in Alnus,including subgenus taxon,cytology,population genetic diversity and structure, phylogeography,and so on, with the expectation to provide references to genetic improvement of Alnus in future.