Pollen-mediated gene flow in managed fields of lowbush blueberry

Abstract

Pollen-mediated gene flow was analyzed in two managed fields of lowbush blueberry (Vaccinium angustifolium Ait.) in Maine. Seedlings derived from open-pollinated crosses of two mother plants, one from each of the two fields, were genotyped using simple sequence repeat markers. The mother plants, the four to five nearest neighbour plants, and a group of 22–23 plants further away from the site of fruit collection were genotyped as well. The paternity of 70 seedlings produced by the mother plants, 35 from each field, was analyzed using FAMOZ to determine if each seedling was most likely a result of a self-cross, a cross with one of the nearest neighbours, or a cross from outside the nearest neighbourhood. Approximately 91%–97% of the seedlings appeared to result from crosses with plants outside the nearest neighbourhood, whereas 0% appeared to have resulted from self-crosses. This suggests that the primary pollinators of lowbush blueberry, native bees and honey bees, routinely collect and move pollen from distances greater than the adjacent neighbours of the plants receiving the pollen.