General sessions2D-06 Population genetic structure of the widespread coniferous tree Taxodium distichum in the Mississippi River Alluvial Valley and the Florida Peninsula

• Published in: Genes & Genetic Systems Vol. 84; no. 6; p. 464
• Main Authors: TANAKA Ayako, OHTANI Masato, KUSUMI Junko, INOMATA Nobuyuki, TSUMURA Yoshihiko, TACHIDA Hidenori
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: Japanese
• Published: The Genetics Society of Japan 2009
• ISSN: 1341-7568; 1880-5779

Taxodium distichum is a coniferous tree widely distributed in southeastern North America. The species has two varieties: bald cypress (var. distichum) and pond cypress (var. nutans). Previous studies detected only small amounts of genetic differentiation between the two varieties in spite of their ecological and morphological differences. However, populations from only a part of their habitats were investigated in those studies. Thus, it is necessary to analyze populations covering wider regions to clarify whether the observed genetic differentiation between the two varieties is general. In this study, the genetic structure of T.distichum was investigated using 8 microsatellite loci for 374 adult individuals sampled from 15 natural populations across the main and central ranges of the species, Mississippi River Alluvial Valley and Florida. We found that the level of differentiation between the regions, Mississippi River Alluvial Valley and Florida, was much higher than that between the varieties.