Analysis of the polymorphism of organelle DNA to elucidate the phylogeography of Norway spruce in the East European Plain

Abstract

The history of Norway spruce distribution in the East European Plain is discussed with regard to the results of the allele diversity survey of the mitochondrial Nad1 gene, which is maternally inherited, and the chloroplast trnT trnF region, which is paternally inherited in spruce. The polymorphism of organelle DNAs was examined in 221 genotypes from 28 regions of the former Soviet Union in geographical prove nances. Alleles common for the northern Picea abies lineage were detected in spruce trees from all the regions of the European part of Russia. The Nad1 allele typical of the southern lineage of P. abies was discovered just in spruces originating from Zakarpattia. The Nad1 allele species specific of P. obovata was found only in spruces from the Sverdlovsk (Ural) and Krasnoyarsk (Siberia) oblasts. Among the trees analyzed, some had chloroplast DNA sequences (trnT trnF) characteristic of P. abies, others carried cpDNA haplotypes specific of P. obovata. Analysis of polymorphism of organelle DNA allows revealing the hybrid nature of spruces resulting from the cross pollination of different species.

The extent and meaning of hybridization and introgression between Siberian spruce (Picea obovata) and Norway spruce (Picea abies): cryptic refugia as stepping stones to the west?

“…The general picture of the demographic history emerging from the present study complements previous genetic studies that focused on a more limited geographical area (Lagercrantz & Ryman 1990;Krutovskii & Bergmann 1995;Potokina et al 2013) or were only based on cytoplasmic markers (Mudrik et al 2015;Potokina et al 2015;Tollefsrud et al 2015). It also corroborates Binney et al (2009)'s survey of macrofossils across Eurasia: macrofossil remains of Picea dating to prior to the LGM were found along the southern edge of the West Siberian Plain and on the East European Plain (see also Tollefsrud et al 2015).…”

Recent Trends in Research on the Genetic Diversity of Plants: Implications for Conservation

“…The Pinaceae and Rosaceae were also prominent in terms of both the number of species and publications. Many species of both families are commercially important, due to their medicinal properties and flowers, which stimulates interest in their population genetics, and phylogeographic and phylogenetic characteristics (e.g., [61][62][63][64][65][66][67]). The increase in the number of papers published over time was also associated with an increase in the number of families and species analyzed, reflecting a general tendency for authors to focus on species not studied previously, even when they are aware of the fact that the genetic diversity of different populations of a species may vary considerably.…”

Nonlinear Weather–Growth Relationships Suggest Disproportional Growth Changes of Norway Spruce in the Eastern Baltic Region

“…This is supported by the fact that Norway spruce has suffered diebacks and is already struggling to survive in Poland and Germany [36,46]. Alternatively, this might be explained by the distribution of Eastern Baltic metapopulation(s) of Norway spruce [69]. Local specifics in the shifts in linear relationships were found in Poland (Supplementary Material, Figure S8), which occur on the 'current' southern distribution limit [50].…”