Allozyme Variation in Two Great Smoky Mountain Endemics: Glyceria nubigena and Rugelia nudicaulis
Godt MJ and Hamrick JL. 1995. Allozyme Variation in Two Great Smoky Mountain Endemics: Glyceria nubigena and Rugelia nudicaulis. Journal of Heredity. 86(3):194–197
ABSTRACT: Genetic diversity in Glyceria nubigena (Poaceae) and Rugelia nudicaulis (Asteraceae) was assessed using allozymes. Both species are high-elevation endemics found in the Great Smoky Mountains of Tennessee and North Carolina. No allozyme variation was detected at the 41 allozyme loci scored for five populations of G. nubigena. Allozyme diversity was also low at the 19 loci resolved for five populations of R. nudicaulis. Within R. nudicaulis populations, the mean percentage of polymorphic loci was 18; genetic diversity averaged 0.038 across populations; and species-level variation was only slightly higher, with 26% of the loci polymorphic, and genetic diversity = 0.054. The low level of allozyme diversity found for R. nudicaulis and the lack of allozyme diversity in G. nubigena suggest that these species may have limited potential to adapt to changing environmental conditions.
- Type
- Journal Article
- Authors
- Godt, M; Hamrick, J
- Units
- GRSM
- Keywords
- allozyme, genetics, GRSM-00923, Rugelia nudicaulis, Rugel's ragwort, vascular plant