The distribution of genetic variation in Norway spruce (Picea abies Karst.) populations in the western Alps

Abstract

Aim In order to look for a possible centre of survival for the Norway spruce (Picea abies Karst.) in the south‐western Alps, six natural populations of this area were investigated by means of genetic markers in order to assess the degree and the distribution of genetic diversity within the species. Location Western and South‐western Alps. Methods Populations were genotyped using seven simple sequence repeat (SSR) markers. Basic population genetics parameters were estimated and the amount of genetic differentiation calculated. Results A large amount of variability was found (0.59 < He < 0.67); genetic differentiation as measured by FST was 0.05, close to other similar studies; no isolation by distance was detected by a Mantel test. Analysis of molecular variance confirmed a high degree of variability within populations and a low degree of variability among populations. Finally, the number of populations from which those observed could have arisen was estimated by Bayesian analysis. Main conclusions The results presented here suggest that the present populations derive their genetic make‐up from three inferred clusters. The possible existence in this area of a relict/refuge population during the last glaciation is discussed.

Genetic variation of isolated Picea balfouriana populations from the southeast of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau

“…Compared with previous studies, the amount of genetic differentiation of P. balfouriana was lower than that of P. asperata, which is distributed narrowly and discontinuously , but distinctly higher than the values detected among populations of widespread Norway spruce (Maghuly et al, 2006;Meloni et al, 2007), transcontinentally distributed black spruce (Perry and Bousquet, 2001) and both disjointedly and continuously distributed Sitka spruce (Gapare et al, 2005). Moreover, high levels of population differentiation have been commonly observed in plant species from the southeast of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau when compared with other species belonging to the same genus, e.g., Cupressus gigantean (Xia et al, 2008), P. asperata , Gentiana atuntsiensis and G. striolata (Zhang et al, 2007), Megacodon stylophorus (Ge et al, 2005) and Populus cathayana (Lu et al, 2006;Peng et al, 2005).…”

“…Compared with previous studies on conifers based on SSR markers, such as investigations on the discontinuously distributed P. asperata (mean H e = 0.707, Wang et al, 2006) and widely distributed P. abies (mean H e = 0.604, Meloni et al, 2007; mean H e = 0.675, Scotti et al, 2006), P. balfouriana populations possess a moderate degree of genetic diversity (mean H e = 0.640). Based on STS markers, the variation level of P. balfouriana populations was similar to that reported previously for both continuously (mean H e = 0.573) and disjointedly (mean H e = 0.566) distributed Sitka spruce populations (Gapare et al, 2005 NS: Not significant; * significant at P < 0.05; * * significant at P < 0.01.…”

“…Bayesian analyses can be used to both assess the genetic structure of populations and infer possible populations of provenance for the studied populations or individuals (Bertorelle and Excoffier, 1998;Meloni, 2007;Pritchard et al, 2000). In this study, Bayesian assignment analysis assigned individuals of the same sampling site mostly to the same cluster, especially based on SSR markers, although the presence of gene flow was evident among some populations.…”

Combined analysis of nuclear and mitochondrial markers provide new insight into the genetic structure of North European Picea abies

“…The heterozygote deficiency that we detected in the Norway spruce stands seems to be in accordance with studies from other parts of its distribution range, both at isozyme loci (Lagercrantz and Ryman, 1990) and at different sets of microsatellite loci (Maghuly et al, 2006;Scotti et al, 2006;Meloni et al, 2007). Deviation from HW proportions was found within stands, frequently at loci largely unaffected by null alleles (Table 1, Appendix A).…”

Genetic diversity of core vs. peripheral Norway spruce native populations at a local scale in Slovenia

“…It can grow on diverse sites, and often forms continuous stands, either alone or in mixtures (Skrøppa 2003). In general, it exhibits high levels of genetic variability within populations and low levels of differentiation (Langercrantz & Ryman 1990, Müller-Starck 1995, Vendramin et al 1999, Sperisen et al 2001, Scotti et al 2006, Meloni et al 2007.…”