Variation and genetic structure of Serratula lycopifolia populations (Vill.) Kern. (Asteraceae) in Poland and adjacent regions

Abstract

AFLPs were used to analyze the genetic variability of <em>Serratula lycopifolia</em>, one of the rarest plant species in Central and Western Europe, in six populations from the Wyżyna Małopolska upland (Poland), White Carpathian Mts (Slovakia and Czech Republic) and Podolian Upland (Ukraine). The results of polymorphism, PCoA and neighbor-net analyzes showed similar and relatively low genetic variation and high genetic similarity of individuals within each Polish population but there were differences between those populations. The population from Slovakia also showed comparatively high intrapopulation homogeneity and evident genetic separation from the other studied populations. Intrapopulation genetic variation was higher in the Czech and Ukrainian populations. However, AMOVA analyses revealed no significant differentiation at population and regional levels. The estimated low genetic diversity in the populations from Poland and Slovakia may be due to genetic processes such as genetic drift and inbreeding in local populations resulting from their low abundance, and does not seem characteristic of the species as a whole. These genetic analyzes make it clear that the Polish and Slovakian populations need support programmes to maintain their genetic variation. Measures should focus on increasing the number of individuals in the populations and on protecting their habitat

Morphometric characteristics of helichrysum italicum (roth.) g. don from northwestern coast of Istria

“…These results once more confirm high genetic variability among individual plants of H. italicum in the wild population. High genetic variability in wild populations is common in cross-pollinating plants from family Asteraceae, such as Tanacetum vulgare, Tanacetum cinerariifolium, Senecio vulgaris, Chamomilla recutita, and Serratula lycopifolia (Cieslak, 2013;Ebadi, Eftekharian, 2021;Grdiša et al, 2014;Mežaka et al, Wolf et al, 2012).…”

Range-wide phylogeography of the flightless steppe beetle Lethrus apterus (Geotrupidae) reveals recent arrival to the Pontic Steppes from the west

“…The importance of the Pannonian Basin as a refugium for certain steppe plants have already been suggested 18 , 39 , 40 . Although numerous examples of phylogeographic analysis of Ponto-Pannonian steppe species are known in the literature 41 – 45 , most of these focus their sampling on a smaller part of the whole distribution area, which may undermine phylogeographic reconstruction of the analysed species 42 , 46 . Therefore, we must be cautious in comparing our phylogeographic results with similar results on other steppe species, but the general acceptance of the presence of a steppe refugium in the western part of the area for certain steppe species forecast similar colonisation patterns for—at least some—steppe species: from the west to the east, from the current periphery to the eastern zonal range (“centre”).…”

Genetic differentiation of Allium sibiricum L. populations in Poland based on their morphological and molecular markers

“…While gene flow could affect the increasing level of genetic variation of the Allium populations, it probably does not occur because of the long geographical distance. This process is more probable between the populations in the Karkonosze Mts, where plants are distributed over a smaller area and pollinators can neutralize the negative effect of genetic drift, which can lead to a reduced genetic variation [47,48]. The results of STRUCTURE analysis indicated that some specimens from the Allium populations contained mixed or different genotypes.…”