Distribution of genetic diversity in <i>Fagus sylvatica</i> at the north-eastern edge of the natural range

Abstract

Distribution of genetic diversity in Fagus sylvatica at the north-eastern edge of the natural rangeKempf M., Konnert M. (2016). Distribution of genetic diversity in Fagus sylvatica at the north-eastern edge of the natural range. Silva Fennica vol. 50 no. 4 article id 1663. 17 p. http://dx.doi.org/10.14214/sf.1663. Highlights• European beech at the north-eastern edge of its natural range in Poland have a high level of genetic variation, similar to the populations from Central Europe.• The differences between the beech provenances from the two centres in Poland, which were previously identified on the basis of pollen analyses and phenotypic traits, have now been genetically confirmed. AbstractAn understanding of the genetic variation of the beech, especially at the edge of its natural distribution, is essential because of the change in natural distribution of the species resulting from changing climatic conditions. The main aim of the study was to determine the level of genetic diversity of European beech at the north-eastern edge of its natural range. The other aim was to check the genetic variation of beech from the two centres, the north and the south of Poland, which were identified in previous findings based on pollen analyses and phenotypic traits. The research material was the progeny of twelve beech provenances. The genetic structure of the populations was determined by ten highly variable microsatellite DNA loci. The results confirmed the high genetic diversity of beech at the north-eastern edge of its natural distribution, which infers the probability of their good adaptation to the changing climate and an extension of the range. Genetic analyses confirmed the existence of two genetic centres for beech in Poland. The populations from south-eastern Poland had a slightly higher diversity than the populations from the north-western area, which may indicate that the colonisation of Poland occurred by two routes. The results are important for creating the borders of the provenance regions and for limiting the transfer of seeds and seedlings. The choice of forest reproductive material, based on the knowledge of genetic diversity, is very important for the stability of future forests.

Genetic Insights into Ecological Succession from Oak- (Quercus robur L.) to Beech- (Fagus sylvatica L.) Dominated Forest Stands

“…These differences might obviously result from the fact that we sampled only a single population, located in the north-eastern distribution limit, presumably in the front edge of an expanding population (Magri et al, 2006). However, similar levels of genetic diversity, as in our study, were found in other beech populations (Westergren et al, 2015;Kempf and Konnert, 2016).…”

“…Elevated levels of inbreeding in beech were found in several studies (Vornam et al, 2004;Buiteveld et al, 2007;Paffetti et al, 2012), but in most cases it was a likely effect of the presence of null alleles. Other authors (Rajendra et al, 2014;Westergren et al, 2015;Kempf and Konnert, 2016) observed relatively low levels of inbreeding. Apparently, when F is is estimated along with accounting for the presence of null alleles, the levels of inbreeding in beech are usually found to be insignificant (Piotti et al, 2013;Pluess and Maattanen, 2013).…”

Genetic diversity in European beech (Fagus sylvatica L.) seed stands in the Romanian Carpathians

“…This general genetic pattern was similar for European beech in almost all European regions as demonstrated mainly by isozyme studies (see Comps et al 1990, Gömöry et al 1992, Hazler et al 1997, Konnert 1995, Leonardi & Menozzi 1995, Merzeau et al 1994. For nSSR markers only few studies on genetic variability of beech populations exist (see Vornam et al 2004, Buiteveld et al 2007, Ciocîrlan 2014, Ciocîrlan et al 2017, Lander et al 2011, Liesebach et al 2015, Kempf & Konnert 2016. Szasz-Len (2016) conducted a PCoA and STRUCTURE analysis with the presented 10 populations from Romania and 16 European beech populations from Germany and Bulgaria.…”

“…Abbreviations: Df -degree of freedom; SS -sum of squares; MS -mean sum of squares; P -probability. zygosity of the investigated populations was related to populations of Fagus sylvatica from Central Europe (Vornam et al 2004, Dounavi et al 2016, Kempf & Konnert 2016, even if partially different markers were used and a direct comparison of results is difficult. Thus for example for 13 beech populations in the marginal and core areas of beech distribution in Romania Ciocîrlan (2014) based on eight nuclear microsatellites calculated a mean observed heterozygosity of 0.651, whereas the overall expected heterozygosity was 0.703.…”

Abiotic genetic adaptation in the Fagaceae

“…In contrast, no reduced genetic diversity was detected in leading edge populations of Castanopsis sclerophylla (Lindl. and Paxon) Schottky in China (Shi & Chen ), in F. sylvatica at its north‐eastern natural distribution limit (Kempf & Konnert ), as well as at the rear edge of the species range (Bontemps et al . ) and in Quercus ilex L. populations growing at the northern distribution limit of the species (Vernesi et al .…”