Abstract
Variation in paternally inherited chloroplast microsatellite (cpSSR) DNA was used to study population genetic structure in red pine (
Pinus resinosa Ait.), a species characterized by morphological uniformity, no allozyme variation, and limited RAPD variation. Using nine cpSSR loci, a total of 23 chloroplast haplotypes and 25 cpSSR alleles were were found among 159 individuals surveyed in seven widely separated populations. The total genetic diversity, H
t, was 0.618, but haplotype differentiation among populations was low G
st = 0.121). All populations were distinguished from each other by their haplotype compositions, and only one haplotype was common among all populations. Based on average squared composite cpSSR length differences (stepwise haplotypes), within-population diversity was relatively high for only one population (D
2sh = 0.443). Frequency distributions of pairwise SSR differences among individuals within different populations, as well as branch length differences in neighbor-joining dendrograms, indicated recovery from one or more population bottlenecks, and may be explained by meta population dynamics.
Keywords
biodiversity,
cpSSRs,
forests,
haplotypes,
pines,
simple sequence repeats
Citation
Echt, Craig S.; DeVerno, L.L.; Anzidei, M.; Vendramin, G.G. 1998. Chloroplast microsatellites reveal population genetic diversity in red pine, Pinus resinosa Ait. Molecular Ecology, Vol. 7:307-316