THE ORGANIZATION OF GENETIC VARIABILITY IN CENTRAL AND MARGINAL POPULATIONS OF LODGEPOLE PINE PINUS CONTORTA spp. LATIFOLIA

Abstract

A survey was conducted of genetic variation at 25 loci in extracts of individual megagametophytes of lodgepole pine. Collections were made in nine widely separated localities representing four marginal, two intermediate and three central populations. Single populations of lodgepole pine were, on the average, polymorphic at 58.67% of their loci, and had 1.90 alleles per locus. Both expected and observed heterozygosity averaged 0.16. There was a definite trend towards decreased genetic variability at the margins. The measures of gene diversity for the 25 loci showed a 4% but significant effect of interpopulation differentiation; 96% of the total gene diversity resided within populations. Estimated outcrossing rates [Formula: see text] for the nine populations ranged between 0.92–1.29. Comparisons among populations with different levels of outcrossing revealed no clear relationship between [Formula: see text] and amount of genetic variability. The overall pattern of genetic differentiation agrees with expectations based on the neutral mutation theory. However, two loci demonstrated conspicuous clinal variation patterns which may be incompatible with this stochastic model.